Yoshi Underground
by Santuh Klozzy
Summary: This is the 1st story in a series. It revolves around a Yoshi caught up in the events of a sudden and unexpected war...read and review, flames accepted! FINISHED!
1. Prologue: Invasion

**Yoshi Underground**

_Authored by Santuh Klozzy_

_Sadly, I don't own Yoshi or any other Mario characters. Some of the characters in this story, however, I DO own. Can you guess which ones?_

**Prologue: Invasion**

Out of the blue, the island fell.

Over a year of war and holocaust began on a cold January night with the entire Yoshi Isle wrapped in a dark, windy blanket. You see, it was the middle of January and winter was at its worst. A bitter, stinging frost covered the northern islands in the Yoshis' isle. Wind was constantly blowing, and a dense black cloud covered the sky and summoned the snow and the wind.

In the port town of Barg, nothing was stirring. All the shops were closed and locked up for the night. Only a few of the bars or lounges were still open. In one such bar, a red Yoshi and two blue Yoshis were assembled quietly, loitering around a pool table. The only other person in the bar was the dull gray bartender. Nobody knew his name, and nobody really cared to know, either. No one talked to him and in return he talked to no one. He was hunched over at the bar, cleaning a stack of mugs with a dirty cloth he carried around in his pocket. Something caught the bartender's attention. He hobbled over to one of the bar's many small, porthole-like windows and looked out into the darkened street. Had something just passed by the window? He shook it off and went back to cleaning. As soon as he finished another mug the church bell rang, signaling one o'clock. To him it seemed the sky had darkened, and an eerie silence was the result of that. Even the patrons stopped their murmuring and looked about, all of a sudden aware that the bartender was standing perfectly still, with a dirty mug in one hand and his cloth in the other.

"You okay?" Somebody asked in a hushed tone. The bartender shook his head.

He was looking out a different porthole window that gave a clear view of the sea. Until now there was nothing strange about it. It was like a great black field that stretched on forever. The bartender kept staring. Something was out there. Something was in the pitch-blackness of the sinister, plutonian sea. The sky was so dark that he could not see anything except for an occasional wave rising up or a fleeting seabird. Then something lit up the darkness. Out at sea there was a bright red beam. It was strange and cone shaped, like a lighthouse's beacon. However the beam was an unearthly red color. Likeglowing blood. The beam seemed to be shooting up out of the surface of the water. The bartender's eyes widened and his jaw hung open. He walked over and grabbed his jacket off of a hanger next to a window, then the bartender looked back at the crowd of patrons. They were watching him, dumbfounded.

"Well?" He said. No response. The Yoshis just kept staring, not uttering a single word. He growled something under his breath. Still nothing. They just kept staring, in a state of total silence. "Any of you got a boat?" He said. The red one opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it again. "Alright. Okay. I should be back in a while." The bartender headed towards the door. He opened it then turned back. "Don't steal any of the drinks. I'll notice." With those being his final words, the bartender left the silent bar. A couple minutes after he had gone, one of the frightened Yoshis had the courage to say in a hushed voice. "What the hell?"

Outside it was much, much darker than the bartender had previously believed. It was absolutely, completely pitch black. The only light was an ever-so dim red luminescence that had fallen over the unaware town. Behind him, a cat hissed and a door banged open. He stumbled his way towards the general direction of the wharf. The wind had a high-pitched whistling sound, like a kettle boiling. The bartender rounded a corner and came into view of the long wooden planks and small straw shacks that signaled he was on the right path. He started power walking the rest of the way, keeping an eye out for his destination. Finally it appeared in front of him: A small, wooden shack with a straw roof. The sign on the front was scratched and worn from years of enduring the rough weather. The bartender rammed his shoulder into the door, knocking it open. There wasn't much inside aside from some crates and a desk. At the desk sat a small Yoshi, wrinkled and old. He was a dull brown color and had on a pair of huge spectacles. He seemed to be annoyed by the fact that the wind was causing the shack to make several odd creaking noises. He had a look of momentary disbelief as the old Yoshi entered.

He looked up. "You need something? Or are you just stopping by to say hi? I'm fine with either one, really."

The bartender shook his head. "I need a boat. There's something out in the bay. I'm going there right now to take a look."

The owner of the shack shook his head "Impossible in this weather. It's gotta be at least negative ten degrees outside. Plus, the wind out there is going to tear any boat I have to shreds. Then I have to pay for it. Understand?"

The bartender gave a deep, scratchy sigh. "Well then you're just going to have to come with me to make sure the boat is fine. Now listen to me. I don't have time for this. We need to get out there before the thing I saw is gone." With this being said, he grabbed the arm of the brown Yoshi. "Let's go."

The old Yoshi protested until they got out onto the wharf. Then he became slightly confused at the red glow that Barg was basking in. "What are we…" He began with a tone of horror in his voice. The Yoshi made one or two more feeble attempts on the way to the boats. By the time they arrived at his small part of the wharf where he kept his boats that he rented, he had given up any attempt of prying an explanation from the bartender.

The bartender sat silently for a second, surveying the boats and trying to decide on the sturdiest and fastest. He picked one that he had seen before. It was a small, well-built boat that was big enough for about two or three people. It was made of some sturdy wood that the owner of the boats said came from some northern forest.

"We're taking this one." He announced. His voice was so concrete that the boat's owner didn't attempt to argue. They climbed in and untied it from the wharf.

"Where are we going, exactly?" The owner asked. He was desperately hoping they were not going to head in the direction of that eerie red glowing.

The bartender looked at him, with his head cocked to one side. "Where do you think, old man?" He paused. "That light is our destination. It may be a distress beacon, or a light from some machine. Maybe something's out there." He chuckled. "Maybe we'll find aliens." With that, he turned around and started rowing. So began the short and ultimately unfortunate journey that started one of the greatest holocausts in Yoshi history.

The church bell rang two by the time the boat had gotten out far enough into the sea. They had a good view of the city and the pillar of bloody light that shone out of the waters. They set off, paddling, unaware of the dangers that this held. It seemed to stop snowing as they got within one hundred yards of the pillar. It was at this point that the sheer immensity of it was understood. The pillar, or whatever you may call it, was at least twenty yards in circumference and it was disturbingly bright. A faint whooshing sound came from it, and there was neither sound nor movement aside from that. The pillar did not turn, nor vibrate, nor distort itself in any way. A single, unusual column of light emitting the sound of wind even though all wind seemed to have died here.

"What in the…" were the only words that the boat's owner could utter. He was in shock and disbelief. There it was. The pillar of light that was so bright that they could not see on the other side of it. Surely someone back in town had seen it too? _Perhaps_. Thought the bartender. He reached and was so close he could touch it. Without any forethought, he extended his hand and let his fingers touch the surface of the brilliant cone-shaped beam. It was warm to the touch, but he felt no strange sensation. It seemed like a supernatural patch of heat and light. For a second the bartender thought about turning around and heading back to the bar. He was longing for its familiar surroundings and sounds. Yet something tied him to this pillar. What was it? Why was it here? How long would it last here? He drew his hand back, shivering from the ghostly thoughts of what this could be.

No sooner was his hand safely at his side then something strange happened. The cone started widening. Actually widening! It seemed to be opening up and fanning out. It became larger around the base and the top part of it seemed to grow wider as well. Now the tip of the boat was immersed in the light. Then there was a bang like a firecracker and the part of the boat that was touching the cone seemed to glow for a second and then burst into fire. Panicking now, the bartender grunted and turned around to begin rowing. They had to get away from here, he thought. Whatever it was they would come back in the morning with-

He never finished his thoughts. In a sudden flare of brilliantness, the cone billowed forth another five yards, consuming the boat and turning it and its passengers to a single floating flame. With this, strange things began appearing at the center of the cone. Supernatural beings or simply strange energies…whatever it was, it signaled the beginning of the war.


	2. Chapter 1: Insurgency

**Yoshi Underground**

Authored by Santuh Klozzy

_Sadly, I don't own Yoshi or any other Mario characters. Some of the characters in this story, however, I DO own. Can you guess which ones?_

**Chapter 1. Insurgency**

It was about three thirty in the morning when the small town of Barg was engulfed by the bloody pillar of light. The wind died and the snow stopped falling. Now a couple Yoshis were awaking to a strange feeling of dread.

On one dark side street, in one small and dark house, Yoshi's eyes opened. He was vaguely aware that something strange and red seemed to have invaded his bedroom. It was strange though, since his bedroom didn't have windows; it was an attic bedroom. The bedroom was small and dusty and cramped with barely enough room for a bed and a side table to fit in.

However Yoshi did notice a glowing red light seeping in from the trapdoor that led to a downstairs hallway. Panicking, he scrambled out of bed. Was it a fire downstairs? It could be. Yoshi dragged himself over to the trapdoor and felt the handle. It was cold. That ruled out fire, then. So then what could it be? Scared of what was waiting for him, Yoshi pried open the trapdoor and stared down into a hallway that was drenched in a red light.

"So…" he began. Then he looked around and realized nobody was there with him. Could it be that a flare had been lit outside? He didn't know. He slipped out into the hallway and started looking around. Nothing. He didn't hear any sounds from his parents' room, which was right below his. No sounds at all…

_CRACK. _He gave a little jump. What had that been? Yoshi turned his head and looked behind him. There was nothing behind him, so what did that mean? He looked around before another sound of cracking. He gave another start as he heard the sound of shattering glass. This must have been coming from one of the windows. Who would want to break into the house, though? There was nobody that Yoshi could think of who would want something from him or his family.

A door creaked open somewhere in the house. Yoshi heard muffled voices and realized that they WERE getting broken into! He started tiptoeing his way down the hallway. Yoshi heard the sound of crunching glass as feet passed over it. He stopped and peaked around the corner of the hall. Nothing in this hallway, either…and these were the only two corridors on the top floor, so chances were that it was coming from downstairs.

Yoshi started plodding down the second hallway, aware for the first time that he was scared. All sounds in the house were dead. Yoshi stopped and started thinking it would be a good idea to go back and get his boots and maybe something to protect himself with. What would he use, though? There wasn't anything he could think of to use as a weapon, but he forced himself to return to his room. Once back there he slipped on his red boots and started looking around. This was an attic so there had to be some forgotten item in here that could help him, right?

His eyes finally wandered onto what he had in mind: an old crowbar that had lain in a corner of the attic unlamented for years. He couldn't remember the last time they had used the thing, but it would be helpful now. He just hoped he wouldn't need it.

Feeling slightly more courageous, Yoshi made his way out and into the hallway, which was still an eerie red color. He hadn't really thought much about why the light was shining; he had focused his thoughts entirely on the unseen-and for the most part, unheard-intruders in his family's home.

Yoshi moved silently and steadily to the end of the second hallway, at which was a staircase leading downstairs into a large family room that was adorned with small, comfortable couches and a couple spider plants that were hanging over the sides of their painfully small pots. The front door was on the wall opposite of where the staircase descended. A dark and cold fireplace sat on the eastern wall. Two doors were on the western wall. A dreadful red light was pouring in under the front door and the large rectangular windows set on either side of it. The couches and spider plants cast monstrous shadows over the walls, and every one of them resembled a huge, brutish invader carrying some type of weapon.

His brain was screaming now. Screaming at the thought that somebody would be waiting for him down there in that big, unfriendly room. Summoning the last of his courage, Yoshi started tiptoeing down the stairs with his crowbar in hand. He heard nothing whatsoever. Then a faint crashing noise coming from the basement. This was accompanied by a similar noise from the direction of the kitchen and dining area. Yoshi took a deep breath and told his brain to shut up. He swore that it's screaming would alert everyone in the house.

After a bit of soothing his nerves, he decided it would be best to investigate the kitchen first. The kitchen was closer, and there were two ways into it. That meant he wouldn't become trapped so easily. He snuck down a short hallway connected to the living room and at the end of it he found a closed door that led to the kitchen. Yoshi leaned in put his ear to the door, listening. Silence. Still silence. Was anybody in there anymore?

_They know I'm out here. They're just waiting for me to come in. They? I don't even know who they are. _Yoshi closed his eyes and took a proverbial leap of faith.

_Bang! _The door swung open faster and harder then he had anticipated. Yoshi struck out blindly with the crowbar, but he hit only air. Nobody was in the kitchen. Yoshi looked around carefully. Then he heard the faint sound of footsteps coming from the other entrance to the kitchen. Somebody was coming! Without thinking, Yoshi ducked down behind the end of a small island in the middle of the kitchen. Various knives and other cooking tools dangled above the island, obscuring any view that Yoshi could have to the door.

A creaking noise and the door was open. Heavy footsteps found their way into the kitchen. The door creaked shut now. Yoshi was in here, alone. The only way out was the way he had just come in, but how could he escape without getting caught? There was nothing between him, the island, and the door.

"Yoshi? You in here?" His dad's tired voice croaked. Yoshi let out a sigh all of a sudden. He stood up.

"Dad? You're…" Yoshi stopped and gave another sigh of relief.

"What is up with you wandering around the kitchen? It's four fifteen in the morning!" His dad shook his head and rubbed his eyes. "Go back to bed. It's-" he paused.

"What's up with the light? Somebody light a flare out in the street?" He paused and went over to the kitchen window. "No…what is that light?" He turned around.

"You know, dad…" Yoshi began. "I came down here cause I was hearing things." "Things that were…strange. Like, I swear I could hear glass getting broken. Almost like somebody was trying to break in." In the dark red light, Yoshi's mind was still creating invisible and silent watchers standing still in the shadows, waiting to strike.

"Son, you're crazy." His dad gave a wave of his hand. "Go to bed. Really. We'll see what's up with the light tomorrow." He turned his back on Yoshi but stopped when the sound of a door being slammed reached his ear. He turned back to Yoshi, a look of confused concern on his face that was bloody in the light. "What was that?" He looked around, apparently spooked by whoever had slammed the door.

"See? Sounds!" Yoshi said. He would of felt a bit of triumph if he were not scared out of his mind. "I told you I heard stuff. Weird stuff is going on!" Yoshi stopped. He heard the sound of feet. They were coming from the door his dad had come from. "We've got to get out of here!" Yoshi cried. The desperation and panic in his voice was clear. He turned his back and fled back into the family room, trusting his dad to follow. When his father didn't follow him but instead stood confused, looking at the door that the footsteps were going to be coming through any second. "Come ON!" Yoshi bit his lip when he saw the door open. Not even aware of himself, he closed the door to the kitchen, not wanting to be spotted by the thing. A second later and the other door in the kitchen was thrown open.

"Wha-" were his dad's only words. There was a brief sound of scuffling and then the sound of clattering silverware. The door by Yoshi banged violently for a second. Then all was quiet. Almost simultaneously elsewhere in the house something had found his mother. A distant scream was all. Nothing more.

"Anybody…there?" Yoshi whispered to the door. He didn't know if he expected it to answer or not. He heard nothing on the other side. He thought that his dad could still be in there. _He may be hurt… _Yoshi thought to himself. If that was the case, he'd have to go in and find out. "Ready or not…" Yoshi whispered to himself.

_Bang! _Yoshi forced the door open to find exactly what he had feared he'd find: nothing. No bodies. No blood, at least. The only thing there was a dent on the door he just opened and the knives that had been hanging all over the place. The door on the other side of the kitchen was open and he thought he could hear footsteps leaving.

"This…is not good." Yoshi said to nobody. Nobody was listening. Or was somebody? He looked around, chilled at the thought that somebody could be hiding behind the island or standing right behind him. _If they just got dad and mom…that means I'm…alone. _The very thought of being trapped in a house alone with multiple killers, thieves, or kidnappers was not pleasant. The fact that it was the color of blood outside and this was truly a night straight outta Hell.

_I've got to get out of this house! _Yoshi thought to himself. How, though? The only ways in and out were either through the front door, which led out to the street, or through the back door, which led into an alley. Of course there were windows he could smash. The people raiding their house had obviously known about the use of windows.

"So." Yoshi began. He wasn't too afraid of being overheard. "I can either go through a door, a door, or several windows. What'll it be?"

Yoshi had a decent idea: he would take the back door. It lead out to an alleyway that would give him enough cover to escape to another part of town and get help from the police, or the neighbors, or anybody. Silently he crossed to the opposite door that the footsteps had come through. He'd have to go through here and then down two more hallways to reach the backdoor. Not only did that seem like it would take forever, but the intruders could be anywhere, now. He'd have to be even more cautious.

The house was as quiet and as still as death. More shadows danced across his eyes. Yoshi's imagination was getting the better of him and he was imagining a hundred different but all equally gruesome deaths awaiting him down the corridor outside of the kitchen.

"Ready or not, here I come!" He whispered and set off down the first corridor. He saw nothing, and nothing jumped out at him. No fearsome monsters or masked men. No demons with flaming manes or Black Ops. Soldiers. He hoped that this would keep up and proceeded down the hallway. The hallway turned abruptly at the end, and that hallway led to the backdoor. Yoshi was well aware that somebody was probably going to be there at the backdoor, waiting for him.

Imagine the surprise Yoshi had when he turned onto the last hallway to find, yet again, nothing. One thing that did scare him was the backdoor; it had been knocked off its hinges and was lying like a piece of trash in the alley. Yoshi approached it slowly. When he got to the door, he poked his head but saw no dark figures lurking in the alley. He drew a sharp breath and took a step out, looking over his shoulder. Nobody was following him. No one was here in the alley. Then where were they?

He didn't really think about much more after that except he felt a sense of panic as he realized that his feet weren't in contact with the alleyway. He looked down and saw a manhole opening up beneath him. He didn't even remember that there was a manhole out in the alley. Also, he didn't think that the intruders could of fled into the sewers.

_Well…that's not good _were the only thoughts Yoshi could fit in before he tumbled into the darkness and rotting stench of the sewers.

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The first thing he noticed was the damp cold that clung to his skin. The next thing he noticed was the dead air and blackness that surrounded him. The side of Yoshi's head on the cold sewer floor was numb, and the rest of his head was ringing.

"Hhhuuhhh…" Yoshi mumbled. He hoisted himself up into a seating position, with his back against the wall. His head hurt so badly he could barely move it, yet he leaned it back and looked up. There was no light, which, he reasoned, meant that either somebody had dragged him to some other part of the sewers while he was knocked out or else somebody put the manhole cover over the manhole. Neither one would be good.

_If I'm in the sewers _he thought, _then what was going on in the house must have been real. _If that were the case, whoever attacked him and his family could still be down here. Either that or else they were already out of the sewers.

Stumbling to his feet, Yoshi decided on a course of action: he would try to find an exit from the sewers and then get some help and they would come down here, searching for whoever had broken into Yoshi's house. With his new plan in mind, Yoshi set off. It was hard going because of the lack of light, and his eyes never really got used to the darkness. He remembered that he must of lost his sledgehammer at some point during his fall into the sewers, but he didn't care because the sledgehammer was of no use now; it would be impossible to hit anything in the dark.

When Yoshi finally found light, he had lost all track of time. It could have been days or simply minutes. Maybe it was only a couple hours. Perhaps when he exited it would be hundreds of years in the future! Yoshi didn't know and he didn't care. However, when the light did finally appear, he was glad nonetheless.

It appeared as a small beam that shot down out of a grate. _Funny…_Yoshi thought to himself. He wasn't aware that some of the sewer entrances in Barg had grates over them instead of manhole lids. Luckily for jo, a ladder was located underneath the grate, which was helpful in scaling the fifteen feet straight up to the grate.

Once Yoshi was directly below the grate, he tore it off and dropped it back down into the sewers where it hit the damp floor with a clanging noise.

The light was so bright out of the sewers that Yoshi had to close his eyes for a couple seconds. Even when he opened them again the light still stung his eyes so he had to squint. In what he could make out through the bright sunrays, it seemed that he must be outside the city limits. There were tall forms all around him, which he took to be trees.

It was strange, though. These trees weren't of the tropical variety. These were larger, hardier types that were found only further inland. These types of trees weren't found anywhere near Barg. Also, the ground was hard and dotted with small rocks and wild grasses. These wild grasses were only common towards the center of Yoshi Island. Then what were they doing out here…?

A sound awakened Yoshi from his momentary musings. He looked around. He was alone, for the most part. However, just beyond sight in the shade of a massive tree lurked his watcher. Silent and unseen, it began circling Yoshi like a carrion bird circles a fresh corpse. It prowled around until it was entirely behind the unknowing green dinosaur. Then it decided to make its move.

Yoshi heard a faint whistling sound half a second before it happened. Were it not for the supersensitive senses and sharp reflexes that hundreds of years of living in the wild had given to the Yoshis, he would not of survived the encounter.

Yoshi was vaguely aware of what could possibly be behind. However, his instinct was to avoid whatever it was, and at the moment he was guided only by instinct.

He immediately bridged his entire body, placing both hands on the ground for support. He looked up and saw a steel knife go speeding right where his shoulder blades had been. Yoshi rolled back into a handstand position and flipped up onto his feet. He glanced around but his attacker was still hidden. A second later, from a spot exactly behind him, another knife came gliding like a silver bullet. Yoshi dropped down into a laying position on his stomach. He crawled around in a one-eighty circle and stared hard into the area the knife had exploded from. Nothing was there that he could see.

His attacker walked up behind him on silent feet. Yoshi heard a blade being drawn quietly from a sheath. He jumped up with his back to his unseen attacker. Yoshi intended to not go down without a fight. He aimed a mule kick at his adversary but hit nothing but air. A second later a long, curved blade was pressed against his throat. It was very, very thin. No sword of this type had been manufactured in the isle for centuries.

"How lucky is it that I'd come across a Yoshi all alone, wandering the forest?" a voice whispered in his ear. Yoshi couldn't identify anything about the enemy's voice; it was emotionless and had no accent. It almost seemed to change tones as it kept talking. It could be low-pitched or high. It might be scratchy or else smooth and glasslike.

"Huuh!" was the only sound Yoshi squeezed out. A gloved hand was clapped over his mouth.

_Bang! _Something exploded into the forest around them. A flash of light and tongues of flames licked Yoshi's arms and legs. A second later another device flew into the area right in front of him. It was small and resembled a crudely made pineapple grenade. It too burst into flames that reached out and hugged him. Yoshi didn't even notice the sword had left his throat and his attacker had fled.

Distant voices and the sound of many feet and other odd noises all at once. The sound of cold steel meeting cold steel was added to the menagerie of sounds. He felt like he was standing forsaken in a ring of fire while a war was waged all around him. Yoshi looked around and could only see dark shapes on the outside of the fiery ring. He looked at his arms and chest and saw they were burned, badly. They were like charred, mangled messes, shiny with his blood.

The last thing he remembered was the intense heat overwhelming him as he crumpled to the ground. Then an arm pierced the flames and got a hard grip on his shoulder. Yoshi was badly burned and unconscious when they dragged him from the fire.

On the trip that his new captors were taking him, he only woke up twice. He barely had enough energy to open his eyes at first. When he did, he saw himself surrounded by blurred people, traveling silently. He didn't notice that he was on a makeshift stretcher of blankets and other materials. Then he passed out into darkness.

The next time Yoshi woke up, the sun had passed out of sight and night engulfed the land. His captors were carrying torches, now. There was a bit of hushed talk among them, but Yoshi could not understand it. He let his eyes close and once more he was out.

So it was that in the last days of January, when winter was alive yet almost over, in the coldness and blackness of night that Yoshi was brought into the lair of his rescuers. The 'lair' was a cave, which had in years past stocked the terrible experimental weapons that Yoshi scientists labored over night and day, manufacturing and testing in secret locations. It now served as a base of operations for the group that had rescued Yoshi. It had one main room, which was reminiscent of the inside of a warehouse; crates and barrels were stacked on each other, creating makeshift barriers. Holes had been drilled in the walls, providing rooms for torches to sit. The floor was bare and covered with rocks, and two small hallways led away from this room. The one on the opposite side of the room from the main entrance led to a smaller, private room that served as quarters and a war room for the garrison's leader. The next hallway was located directly in between the main entrance and back room. It was a trapdoor, actually. A small metal grate could be removed from the entrance, and then you would proceed to climb down a ten-foot ladder, which led into a long, dark room dotted with bunk beds and mattresses lying idly on the ground. It was a dark, cold pit that the soldiers of this place called home every night.

Though Yoshi would become familiar with this place throughout the course of the occupation and war, the first time he saw the inside of the outpost he would be a bit surprised. He had always imagined military forts as large outposts dotted with towers and ramparts. Soldiers would march with an air of pride and courage, their uniforms always clean and ironed. They would carry their swords and spears perfectly, never dropping them or letting them hit anything. The barracks were always perfect, too; they never smelled, the bed sheets were always fresh and every soldier was happy all the time, proud to be serving his or her isle. Not only would Yoshi realize that forts look a whole lot different when people aren't there taking the public tours, but he would also realize the people at this fort didn't even have bed sheets.

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In his dreams, Yoshi was terrified. His dreams always shook him, and he constantly was waking up, scared.

The dream he was having during the time he was being carried to the fortress was long and terrible. It would leave Yoshi guessing at the purpose of many things for the rest of the war.

It started out with him, standing alone in a dark room. It was so dark he couldn't see anything; not even his hand when he held it in front of his face. Then the room was lit up, but it was not with a normal light, no. It was the eerie, glowing red light that had haunted the town of Barg that fateful night. The light seemed to be drilling into his eyes, burning them. So he closed his eyes to stop the burning, but something forced them open again. Now it was dark again, but somebody was talking. He listened, but the language was strange. It was low and guttural, with the speaker making many odd noises during its speech. Yoshi heard himself asking the speaker questions. He received answers that he did not understand. Then whatever it was that was speaking laid a cold, clammy hand on Yoshi's shoulder. He found himself unable to tear away from the strong grasp. Every time he tried to break away, he found that the grasp grew stronger. He kept trying to get away, but eventually the fingernails on the hand dug into his shoulder so badly he felt a stinging sensation and then knew he was bleeding. He kept repeating to himself "Something's not right!" over and over. He stood there, bleeding and babbling strange messages. Then he heard a small, frail voice in his ear telling him he was dead. With that, he collapsed onto the cold floor of the black room.

_Bang! _A bomb exploded right next to him and all of a sudden he was in a great desert. Mortar shells were falling from the sky like hail. He looked in the distance to see where they were coming from, but he could see no launchers. Then he realized the mortars were dropping from the sky like bombs! He looked around and saw other Yoshis near him, armed with swords and guns. A dark blue one ran up to him, clutching a bloody sword to his chest. He started yelling something at Yoshi but it was in the guttural language the mysterious speaker in the room had used. He pointed to the distance. When Yoshi looked in the direction he was pointing, he saw waves upon waves of strange figures. They were clad in foreign armor, which was painted with strange designs. They wore various masks that were shaped like the faces of animals. The primary colors on their armor were blue, red and yellow. They were painted in mesmerizing patterns all over them. The masks were painted that way, too. They carried long, curved broadswords, which reflected the scene in front of them in their steel smiles. There seemed to be no end to the strange soldiers, clad in their chunky suits of strangely painted armor. They soon rushed upon the Yoshis and began slaughtering them with tremendous ferocity.

_Boom! _Yoshi was in another scene, now. The mortars were still dropping like doomed stones out of the sky, and he was still in a desert. Yet this desert was different.

The ground was not sandy, but instead hard and cracked, like the ground in an extremely dry area. It was a deep red which could have been the natural color of the ground, or else it could have been from blood. Yoshi did not know. The sky above him was red, also. The sun was setting and it cast its last brilliant rays over the desert. Yoshi looked around him and saw huge masses of burnt metal all around him. It was like a huge grove of metallic trees and scrap heaps of burned and scarred machinery. A graveyard for the machines, Yoshi thought. A warm wind was blowing through the area, bringing a strange smell with it. He couldn't put his finger on what it was, but it reeked of sulfur and gasoline. He climbed a mountain of what looked like discarded heavy machinery. On the top was a scissor lift that he climbed into and was able to get a view of this strange desert. There were mountains and groves of these mechanical trees all over the place. In the far, far distance was an actual mountain range, glowing red and yellow in sundown. It seemed that the dropping mortars were all over this desert, erupting into fiery domes and bursts of smoke. Yoshi turned and looked for the center of the desert, but he could not see it. He could see, however, marshes in the distance. Strange, treeless bogs dotted with rusty machinery. Their waters were thick and discolored with pollution and dumped chemicals. Beyond the marshes he saw it: a huge city. It spanned as far as he could see. This was not a Yoshi city, however. Yoshi cities barely ever grew that large, and they were usually dotted with pocket parks and other beautification spots. Yoshi buildings had a very distinct architecture style, which was somewhat like a modified Gothic theme. These buildings were huge, cylindrical towers with no windows. They were made of metal and stone, and they were all the same dull gray. Besides these weird towers were huge warehouses, lined up by the hundreds in identical rows. Then there were the smokestacks. They stuck up like pins out of a pincushion, spewing smoke and deadly gases into the atmosphere. Yoshi could now see large black vans that had to be about as big as tanks. They came loaded down with barrels of excess waste to the chemical marsh. Yoshi watched as dirty and miserable looking Yoshis climbed out and started unloading the chemicals into the pools of poisonous water. Then he saw that there were the same strange soldiers there with them that he had seen in the other desert. They were giving out orders and unloading a couple of the vans. In the city, these same giant vans were hurrying to and fro, loading up supplies, transporting them, getting more, and repeating the whole process. Yoshis and these soldiers passed each other, but never talked. What could it all mean?

Somehow knowing he was done here, Yoshi disappeared again. For a split second all was darkness, then he was in Barg. Yet it was not the Barg he had known. The streets were crowded with directionless Yoshis who had been chased out of their homes. Beggars were asleep under overhangs on buildings, while other Yoshis crowded around a huge stone gate that closed off the docks from the rest of the city. Once again, the foreign soldiers were there, on the other side of the gates. The Yoshis were begging for work at the docks, but they were being refused. At the docks, ironclads and barges were coming and going, heading off into the distance. In the center of the town stood an imposing stone castle. The weird soldiers dotted the courtyards and were entering and exiting it. Yoshi saw that all the trees near Barg had been cut down, leaving the ground ugly and full of stumps. Horse-drawn carts brought piles of logs into the city. They dropped them off at one building or another, and then they set off again. Yoshis were outside all day long, swinging axes and dragging trees to the carts. Terrified by this future, Yoshi started begging whatever was putting him through these dreams to leave him be. Yet there was another image or two for him to see. Yoshi stood silently, studying Barg.

A second later and Yoshi was standing next to one of the most famous Yoshi landmarks: the Super Happy Tree. He looked up at it. He had visited it once before, and it was truly amazing. You saw pictures of it in the Wish You Were Here… postcards but when you were actually there it was absolutely huge. The Super Happy Tree was in a small mountain range on the southern half of Yoshi Island.

Technically, he should of said Eastern Yoshi Island. There were eight islands in the Yoshi Isle. Two of those were both called Yoshi Island. One was in the west and one was in the east, so they took on to calling them the West and East Yoshi Islands. However, not many people liked this idea and ended up calling them both Yoshi Island. Not many things were on Western Yoshi Island. There were more towns then Eastern Yoshi Island, but not as many important locations. On Western Yoshi Island-which is where Barg was-there was the figurehead capital city of the Yoshi Isle. It was a big, crowded town full of buildings where various directors of agencies and other important people in the monarchy gathered to argue and generally get nothing done. The king maintained that this was the capital of the Yoshi Isle, but everyone knew that the city of Yoshinopolis on Eastern Yoshi Island was the true capital. It was much smaller, and was more a landscaping project than a city. It was built out of wealthy, walled suburbs and acres upon acres of parks with groves of various trees, geometric patterns made from different species of flowers, and manmade lakes populated by fish that had been brought in. There were trails lined with rows of trees that led along rivers and through grassy knolls. Animals frolicked and gave any visitor the impression that the king had his priorities right. Really? What priorities? That was the view most Yoshis had of the king. He was fit to run an eatery more than he was to run a kingdom.

Yet none of that mattered as Yoshi sat looking up at the natural magnificence of the Super Happy Tree. Then something caught his eye that made his stomach squirm…

There were more soldiers. They had long saws and axes and they were cutting thick strips of wood from the Super Happy Tree! Yoshi felt sick. There were long caravans of wagons loaded up with the wood from the tree. Yoshi looked up once more and noticed the branches were leafless. The bark was grayish and dead. The Super Happy Tree was dead and these foreign soldiers were cutting it up for construction and firewood. At the moment Yoshi felt sick. He wanted to bring himself to throw up and wake from this dream, but he wouldn't. He covered his eyes. _This can't be real _he thought to himself. _This is only a dream. Only a dream…_ it was only a dream. "You…are all…a dream!" Yoshi spat out at the soldiers. He tried running to them, attacking them, but he was rooted to the spot. He yelled vulgarities and threats at them. He kept struggling. Eventually tired, he relaxed, unable to escape his invisible bonds and attack the people who were desecrating and destroying a great Yoshi landmark. He sighed and knew what he could do.

Everything that had happened so far…the dark room and the strange speaker, the desert and the Yoshis being slaughtered, the mechanical desert and the huge economic center, the miserable and homeless in Barg, and now the destruction of the Super Happy Tree, he knew what he would do. If these things hadn't happened yet he would stop them. He didn't know if an unknown force was guiding his dreams or else if he was just imagining things that his mind had predicted after the events he had been through. If there was time to stop these events from happening, he would. Yet there was one more sight that would freeze his blood.

_Bang! _Now he was in a new and alien environment. This was not on Yoshi Isle. It was like another world. Another hostile world spread out before him. He had the sense he was in a building that had some special purpose. The cavernous room that spread out before him was the strangest sight he had ever seen. There were huge pillars of a strange luminescent blue gelatin. He tried touching one, and it wobbled as his hand moved it. Huge slimy membranes hung like curtains, blocking off passageways leading out of the room. Yoshi looked at the floor and saw that it was a strange color he had never seen. To him it was nameless. The ceiling and walls were the same color. _What a room! _Yoshi laughed in his head. What an absurd surrounding, yet something was innocently sinister about it. He realized nobody was in here except for him. Nobody until he heard a strange sound across the room. He saw one of the membranes burst into flames, disintegrating and leaving the passage out of the room open. Yoshi saw that the tunnel behind the membrane was dark, yet he could make out shapes emerging from it.

One by one they came out. They were weird figures, dressed in black robes and hoods that hid their faces. They had black gloves and black boots. Some of them carried torches that were shaped like Cornucopias. Inextinguishable blue flames leapt out of these horns. Others carried curved swords like the strange soldiers from Yoshi Isle. At their head was a strange sight; a dragon.

It was about three times the size of a Yoshi. It was blood red with splotches of black and white over its scaly hide. On top of it sat a demonized, perverted Yoshi head. It was like that of a normal Yoshi, except that dagger-like fangs shot out of its mouth. It had a pair of branching horns like those of a stag on its head. Its eyes were large and black. A huge purplish and gray tongue was curled up in its mouth. The beast was on all fours and behind it swung a thick tail that ended in a club with small spikes like horns sticking out of it.

Next to it walked a figure not unlike the others except that it carried three spheres. One orb was black, and had the burning letters PANIC floating on the inside of it. The next one was white with the fiery letters TERROR inside of it. The third one was gray and had the letters TREMBLING floating on the inside of it, burning.

As they proceeded to the center of the room, Yoshi saw a console rising up out of the ground in the center. The console was like that to a supercomputer. It was wide and was covered with numerous buttons and screens like a picture straight out of a sci-fi movie. The console was made out of pure gold and the buttons were carved from various gems. Rubies, sapphires, amethysts and any other number of gems were in the form of buttons and keys on the computer.

As they reached the computer, Yoshi saw the robed figure with the three orbs placing them on three pedestals to the side of the console. After it had placed them, it asked the dragon something in the strange guttural language.

The dragon responded but the answer was in the same language. Then it placed its first huge, clawed hand on the console and started pressing the various buttons on the console. It started talking as it worked, and the others that were accompanying it listened quietly and kept all their eyes on the screen.

_SHUSHSUHSU _A sound rang out into the hall. A holographic window appeared, floating above the console. On it was a picture Yoshi knew well. This was the planet that he had lived on his whole life. At least he hoped he had lived on it for his life.

The dragon let out a roar of triumph and continued its tedious work. A pleased chatter spread through the crowd of figures. The dragon stopped and turned around and asked something to them. They responded with cheers and mad laughter. The dragon pushed a couple more buttons and stood back, surveying its work.

Yoshi studied the screen, confused. Then horror gripped him as the planet began to _change._ He watched as the oceans disappeared and all that was left was a great brown sore where the water had been. The green continents darkened and a shadow was cast over the planet. It grew darker and colder, and great black clouds covered most of the planet. On the surface, superstorms were raging their way through the world, ravaging continents and destroying the last remnants of the world. Burned out ruins of buildings and fortresses gave a small respite from the baseball sized chunks of rock that were torn from the ground in the insanely high winds. F5 tornadoes dotted the prairies and deserts, leaving trails of destruction that zigzagged the planet. A huge swirling cloud hung over the sea, spewing rain and lightning and destroying everything that came near. The powers of Hurricane, Lightning and Earthquake were unleashed. A continual cycle of storms and winds as the dead planet drifted through the darkness of outer space, ripped from its orbit of the sun and void of any purpose or life. Such was the terrible scene that presented itself on the view screen.

The dragon stared, speechless. Something about this had startled it. Something had startled the robed figures, too. They loitered about for a second, murmuring quietly in the deep, strange language that was included in all of Yoshi's dreams. They stood around until the dragon quieted them. It began to speak. Its voice was low and it sounded scared and uncertain. It appeared to Yoshi that the mysterious group had messed up and destroyed his world. Was this what was destined to happen?

The group stood, rooted to the spot. Why? Why didn't they leave? The dragon lowered its head. Then it raised it up again, a crooked grin crossing its face. It started barking something to the group, and they began to grow more cheerful. _How can you be cheerful after you've just killed an entire planet?_ Yoshi thought. Cheerful they were, though. They shuffled around a bit and waited. The dragon went to the panel again and began typing once more. Did he believe he could bring the planet back? Then Yoshi saw what he was doing. A second later and a swirling portal cracked open right where the holographic screen had been. It was like a huge black window with electricity crackling inside it and flashes of light reaching out. Even a couple sounds from the other side of the portal escaped into the room. There were various sounds: wind, the sound of marching feet, and voices.

A couple of the cloaked men sprang through the portal with their swords out. A couple more followed. At last it was only the dragon and the person who had carried the spheres. The sphere-carrier grabbed the spheres and it and the dragon dived through seconds before the portal snapped shut. The room was left dark and silent. The golden console slowly lowered itself back into the floor. Yoshi looked around, stunned by what he had just seen. Was his world over? Or was this a premonition? Perhaps it was nothing but messed up images based on the events that had been taking place. Yoshi was not sure.

He did know one thing.

He would not-_Snap! _Yoshi was awake. He was lying in a dark cave on a mattress without sheets. Several unfamiliar Yoshi faces surrounded him, illuminated by a glow stick that one of them had just snapped to life.


	3. Chapter 2: Rebellion

**Yoshi Underground**

Authored by Santuh Klozzy

_Sadly, I don't own Yoshi or any other Mario characters. Some of the characters in this story, however, I DO own. Can you guess which ones?_

**Chapter 2. Rebellion**

"Think he'll be okay?"

"Maybe. Those burns look pretty bad, though."

"But he should be okay, right?"

"I told you maybe."

"Guys, what are we going to do?"

"Don't ask me!"

"What do you think?"

The voices came flooding over Yoshi's mind as he lay there, in great pain and unable to move. His eyes hurt too much to open them, so he let them rest. The smell of burnt flesh filled his nostrils, and he could feel his arms and chest were wet with blood.

"Hurrgh…" he coughed out. Even it hurt to speak.

"Is Thorn back yet?"

"Maybe. Lemme go check."

The sound of feet on hard ground and then the clanking sound of someone climbing a ladder out of the room they were in.

"Hurrgh…" Yoshi repeated. He opened his eyes, even though it caused him pain to do so. He saw that he was lying on a mattress that had been thrown down in the corner of a huge, dark room. The room around him was dotted with bunk beds and other mattresses. The only light came from an eerie greenish glow emitted by a glow stick held by a yellow Yoshi standing over him. He bent his head and saw his arms and chest were burned badly. He let his head fall back. What was going on?

A minute later a dark blue Yoshi came climbing down a ladder that was just barely inside the glow of the glow stick. As he reached the bottom, Yoshi noticed he was carrying a sword with him.

"I found Thorn, everybody. He said he had just gotten back and he'd come down here in a minute." The blue Yoshi told the group.

"Thanks, Helix." Said the yellow Yoshi standing next to Yoshi.

Helix strode forwards and looked down at Yoshi. He studied him for a minute.

"Strange that we found him wandering alone in the forest." Came a voice from the back of the group. A couple people nodded.

"I know." Helix turned to the group. "Strange that he was alone. Strange that he was wandering." He looked back at Yoshi, and then he turned to face the ladder. A metallic clanking sound signaled someone was climbing down. "Here's Thorn now!" He announced.

A second after he announced his entrance, the Yoshi known as Thorn appeared at the bottom of the ladder. He was a good two or three inches taller than Yoshi, and he was well built. His arms and legs were muscular, and he carried himself with an energy Yoshi hadn't seen too often. He was a dark charcoal color, with flecks of gray. His eyes were red. He was in some military fatigues with a pair of combat boots on.

He strode over to the group quietly and stood there watching them all. Finally he turned to Yoshi.

"This is the guy?" He asked, walking over to Yoshi and looking down on him. Everybody nodded. Thorn kept looking Yoshi up and down. "What's your name?" He asked. Yoshi managed to croak out a "Yoshi." Which seemed to satisfy him.

Thorn looked at the group and opened his mouth. "It seems his name is Yoshi. A very common name."

"Shouldn't we get some bandages or something for his burns? I mean…. they look pretty painful." Spoke up the yellow Yoshi holding the glow stick.

"Right." Thorn nodded absent-mindedly. "Somebody go get a field medic or something. Now!" He barked at the crowd. Two green Yoshis departed to the ladder. Or maybe just the light was making them look green. Thorn turned back to Yoshi. "What were you doing out in that forest, Yoshi?" Yoshi knew he wouldn't care that his throat hurt so he forced himself to talk.

"It all started out at least a couple days ago in my hometown of Barg." Yoshi began.

"Whoah, whoah, whoah. You came from Barg?" Thorn interrupted.

"Yeah. I'm getting to that part soon." Yoshi continued on. "So I was asleep in my house that I share with my parents. It was night. Then this weird, red light came in under the door to my room and I started hearing weird things. First of all, somebody broke into our house. Then my mom and dad disappeared. Then I got out of the house into an alley and out there I fell into an open manhole."

Thorn nodded. "Yeah. I know all about weird red lights and strange people breaking into houses and kidnapping or killing people."

"Anyways…" Yoshi continued. "It was pitch black in the sewers. I mean pitch black! It was really dark and my eyes never got used to it. So I must have stumbled through there for at least a day. Then I see an exit and I take it. Where does that exit lead? It leads right into the middle of a forest. So now I'm standing, completely confused in a forest. Then out of nowhere somebody starts throwing knives at me. I dodge those and then this guy comes out of nowhere and is going to slit my throat and then you guys show up and throw a couple incendiary grenades. You chase him off and then you save me and take me here. I wake surrounded by people I've never seen in a dark cave. I'm covered with burns, too. My name is Yoshi. I'm unemployed and live with my parents. There." Yoshi finished, pleased with himself.

A couple strange looks appeared in the crowd. Thorn looked at Yoshi funnily.

"You're from Barg and you wandered north hundreds of miles in a sewer? That's crazy! There's no sewer line anywhere in the isle that stretches that far."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean…" Thorn said. "That when we picked you up, we were about ten to fifteen miles northeast of the town of Yoshmite. Yoshmite is a mid-island city. So either you're lying or else those sewers are seriously whacked." Thorn shook his head. "It's impossible. No way at all you could of done that unless what you were wandering through wasn't a sewer line." A hush fell over the crowd at this.

"Yeah. I know that it's impossible but I'm pretty sure those were sewers I was in."

Thorn sat silently for a minute. He turned his back to everyone in deep thought.

"The only way I'll believe you…" he began, addressing Yoshi. "Is if we get visual confirmation of the sewers. Do you think you can remember where they were in Barg?"

Yoshi nodded. He knew where they were; they were right outside his house. What was Thorn going to do, though?

"You're going back to Barg." Thorn said, with his back still to everybody. "You're not going alone, though. Also you're not going on foot." He turned around. "Helix and Sasha are going with you." With this the dark blue Yoshi and the yellow one holding the glow stick nodded. "Here's what we're going to do." Thorn walked forwards and addressed Yoshi, Sasha, and Helix. "You're going to go by boat. It will be long and hard and you'll be traveling down some of the hardest rapids in the isle, but I think you can do it."

Pulling up a sheet of paper from a small table next to a bunk bed, Thorn pulled a pen out of one of his fatigue pockets. He drew a large circle and labeled it "YOSHMITE" and then he drew another circle far below it and labeled it "BARG". He drew the outline of Western Yoshi Island around them, showing their actual geographic locations. He drew a line between the two and labeled that 600 MILES. He drew a squiggly line that led from near YOSHMITE to near BARG. He labeled it RHINEHEART RIVER-450 MILES. He drew a smaller river branching off of RHINEHEART and it flowed into the ocean near BARG. He labeled it BROKEN CREEK-50 miles. Then he drew a line threw the ocean to Barg and labeled it OCEAN-THE REST OF THE WAY.

"That's how we're going to cut off time." Said Thorn. "Instead of walking straight there we're going to shave off a bit of time and hard work by traveling by river. Here-" he pointed to the map. "You'll walk the distance to Yoshmite. Once you get there we'll have three people named Team A waiting for you with a boat at the shores of the Rhineheart River. You'll travel down the length of the Rhinestone. At the end of it near Barg, it forms into a small marsh. A smaller river called Broken Creek branches off of it and travels fifty miles to the sea. Once you get to the sea you will travel the rest of the way to Barg by sea. How you get into the town is up to you. Okay?"

"I got a question." Yoshi piped up.

"What?" Thorn looked annoyed.

"What if I don't want to be a part of you guys? I mean…hell, I don't even know what's going on."

"That's good, then." Thorn said. "It'll be a learning experience. Consider yourself drafted to the greatest rebel army in the isle!" He looked at Sasha and Helix. "Make sure you tell him all about the invasion on your way to Barg. Follow his instructions when you reach the sewers."

Sasha and Helix nodded.

"When she would leave?" Sasha asked Thorn.

"Whenever you want. You might want to wait for Fire Team A to get there, though or you might be waiting a bit." With that, Thorn left.

Sasha nodded and turned to Yoshi. "Think you'll be in good enough condition to travel?" She asked.

"I'll try." Yoshi sat up in the mattress. "I wish I knew what was up with those sewers. It's not like I'm lying." He looked at Sasha and Helix.

They nodded and turned and left. Helix told him that they'd tell him when they were ready to leave. Yoshi decided he'd try to get a bit of rest before they left, but hunger pangs and all of the burning sensations all over him prevented that. So he rocked back and forth all night, a shell of a Yoshi. How could it be that in the past couple days his world had fallen on its head, turned inside out, exploded and then done it all again? Alien soldiers invading sounded like it had some grain of truth to it. Everything else was going crazy.

Yoshi eventually was taken by sleep through his pain, and when he finally slept it was restless and riddled with nightmares.

The only dream Yoshi would remember was one where he was standing in a graveyard. Thick gray fog covered the ground, and crooked tombstones covered with moss sat about the place, unforgiving in their judgmental stares. Almost like they were accusing him of living while the inhabitants of their graves were dead. He was alone in this graveyard, alone and afraid. Strange sounds came from under the ground: screams, maniacal laughter, howling. Every now and then a hand would shoot up out of the ground next to a tombstone. They were Yoshi hands, but they were ancient ones. Covered with maggots and clumps of dirt, Yoshis would stand up from their resting places. Their skin was colorless and sagging. A couple of them were skeletons. One of them had a fat, red worm coming out of an empty eye socket. It approached Yoshi and began speaking to him in a language he understood as a low, guttural one. As it talked, Yoshi heard the sound of footsteps and voices. All of a sudden the corpse Yoshi opened its mouth and said "Yoshi, wake up already!" Yoshi rubbed his eyes, but the dream did not end. It started talking again. "Wake-up!"

A minute later and Yoshi was being shaken roughly awake by Helix. Sasha stood near them, holding a brown backpack. Helix had a small bag in one hand and his sword in the other one.

"We need to leave." He said hurriedly. "Fire Team A has already left with the raft we'll be using. We're going now."

"What time is it?" Yoshi yawned. He felt like asking for five more minutes. He felt more tired than when he had fallen asleep.

"It's seven in the morning." Helix said "and if you don't hurry up we'll leave without you. Now HURRY UP!" He grabbed Yoshi by his right shoulder and forced him to his feet. He handed him a sword like the one he was carrying.

"Take this." Helix continued. He also handed him a small bag like his. Yoshi checked it and saw it contained first aid equipment. "You're carrying our first aid, so don't lose it or else we'll be in trouble. It sucks to be bleeding to death and not have anything to heal the wound with."

"What's the hurry?"

"Just come on." He turned to Sasha. "Let's go."

"Right. Here, Yoshi." Sasha grabbed him and started helping him along. Whenever he moved his chest felt like it was going to explode. That and he could barely move his arm.

So it was that on a frosty day in the middle of January that Yoshi, Helix and Sasha embarked on the first mission of the war that was beginning. They were going to go to the large town of Yoshmite and from there they would continue down several waterways until they reached Yoshi's town of Barg which lay six hundred miles away. Outside the soft light of the morning sun gave everything a fresh look, and frost clung onto the trees and ground. Birds and animals could be heard chattering and moving about in the dense clumps of bushes and flowers. A soft wind blew through the trees and created a rustling sound. It was a beautiful day until Yoshi saw the smoke in the distances to the south.

"What is that?" He asked Sasha. He wondered why there was smoke out here. The nearest town must have been Yoshmite…

"That's smoke from Yoshmite. When it was invaded a couple buildings were burned. Some of the fires are still going on there." Sasha sighed. "We should've realized we'd be invaded some day. Some day." She was quiet for most of the rest of their hike to Barg. She was quiet and Helix was restless. He was constantly darting ahead and peering into the depths of the forest, searching for anybody who'd be out here. Many times he stopped them and told them to be quiet while he listened. Perhaps he knew that there were soldiers out here who would be able to kill them easily. The invaders seemed to be able to do that quite easily from what he had seen.

"You know." Helix told them about they had had a midday meal break. "We don't know too much about these invaders. All we know is that they showed up one night, slaughtering and burning everything they saw. You ever seen one of them?" He asked Yoshi. When Yoshi shook his head signaling 'no' Helix continued, "They're so freaky. They look weird but they can still kill you so easily. Here's the thing." He moved in closer and talked in a hushed voice. "Their armor is really weird and big. It's kind of like plate armor. Just imagine Yoshi plate armor except make it twice as big. That's how large it is. Then they have weird patterns painted onto it. See, the armor is red and they paint blue and yellow patterns all over it. Then to top it all off they have these mask/helmet things that are red with yellow and blue patterns on them and the masks are supposed to look like different animals." Yoshi looked confused. "I know!" Helix continued quietly. "I saw two of them. One had a bull mask and the other had a horse mask. It's strange, I know. You know how you were alone and being attacked by one of them? Yeah, well when he tried escaping after we entered the scene to save you. I saw his mask. Yeah, it was some bug. Must have been a locust or a cricket or something. It was weird like that. Anyways, that's what they look like. I can't think of anybody who would wear armor that was so ceremonial." Helix got up and addressing no one in particular said, "we should get a move on. We've still got a while to go."

So once more they set off through the forests around the city of Yoshmite. By the end of the day they had miraculously traveled ten of the twenty miles they needed to travel to Yoshmite. They stopped by a dry creek bed for a short break before they set off again.

Yoshi wasn't accustomed to the long, hard stretches of traveling. He was grateful whenever they stopped for even the shortest period of time. Now he sat resting as night closed in slowly. They would have to get up and keep traveling after this. So after a short ten-minute resting period they were up again and hiking.

After a short while Yoshi could finally make out Yoshmite in entire clarity on the horizon. A heavily wooded valley was lying between them and their destination. The Rhineheart River snaked and curled its way sinisterly through the landscape, dotted with rocky and treeless islands. It started in Lake Kestrel, which was located far up in the mountains to the north. Then it ran out and was carried down through the mountains and into the middle of the island. Once there it ran steadily down south until it found its destination in a small lake that was rife with several species of plants and fish. Of course recently the lake had been invaded by snakeheads and now only one species of fish existed there.

The march to Yoshmite was hard. The ground was covered with huge boulders that were difficult to navigate through. Several fallen trees blocked their path at multiple locations and the trees were thick and impossible to see through. The ground was covered with sharp stones that sliced anybody unlucky enough to fall and fallen leaves formed a multicolored blanket beneath their feet that crackled beneath their feet when they trudged on it. Anybody would hear them or see them coming. They kept marching, though, and at midnight they reached the soulless ruins of the city known as Yoshmite.

Yoshmite was an abandoned city. There were no signs of life anywhere and fires burned openly in various shops and homes. Corpses of Yoshis were scattered throughout the winding cobblestone streets that wiggled their way through the city. The shops and austere stone houses that lined the streets were all empty and trashed. Most of them were on fire as well. The city walls had crumbled away and the chunks of wall formed an odd looking circle around the city. It was hard on them to pass through this dead place, which stood as a testament to the destruction that the invaders of the isle were bringing.

After what seemed like an hour of traveling they came to the banks of the Rhinestone. It was a bit outside of Yoshmite and ran swiftly and silently, unaware of the carnage that had been committed so near its banks. They were told that Fire Team A would be about a mile south of their current location.

They eventually met Fire Team A, but not in the way they expected. As they were hiking down the river looking for the other three Yoshis, they came across a camp of invaders. Luckily for them, they were unseen. There were five of the soldiers. One had a mask that resembled a bulldog, two masks both resembled a fish, and the other two resembled the faces of lions.

They were talking, but not in a language any of the Yoshis understood. They were all standing around a small pit they had dug. It was filled with fuel and a fire had been lit inside it. There were small rocks propped around the fire, which the soldiers were using as seats.

"Come on," Helix motioned to Yoshi and Sasha. The three crept along the edges of the base. The five soldiers did not notice them as they proceeded along. However the Yoshis finally got a clear view of the fire's fuel.

At the bottom of the fire was burning the corpse of a chocolate colored Yoshi with blotches of beige. There were two bloody pits where the Yoshi's eyes had been. It had puncture wounds up and down its torso, and all of its fingers had been removed. Its jaw had been forced open so far it had snapped, and all the teeth were missing, along with the tongue. What was worse was that there were two other corpses with it: a white Yoshi who was disfigured in much the same way as the first. Then there was a pink one that had had all of its skin cut off. The face was mangled and slashed up so badly it could not be recognized. The head had been twisted so badly that the neck has snapped. Its legs and arms were all broken as well. All three of them were turning black and leathery. On the white and brown Yoshis the skin was beginning to crack and peel away. Apparently Fire Team A hadn't been having a good mission.

Yoshi swallowed a bit of vomit that came up into his mouth. He turned to Sasha and Helix. Sasha was turning pale and Helix had covered his eyes. When Helix spoke his voice was shaky with emotion.

"This same scene is happening all over the isle. Disfigured and mutilated Yoshis, cities burning and ruined buildings." Helix turned away and sighed. He turned back to Yoshi and Sasha. His features were frozen with an emotion Yoshi didn't recognize. He began to speak again. "We can't just leave them here." He looked at the fire. "They didn't deserve to be tortured, killed and burned." So he was addressing the dead Yoshis. "I say we go in there and kill them all." Helix drew his sword. Sasha hadn't been saying anything, but she was starting to shake a bit. Yoshi looked at the sword Helix had given him. He looked up, scared.

"How could we, though? I mean, there's five of them and three of us. Plus they're, well, if they're as superhuman in their strength and agility and other things then we won't stand a chance."

"We do have the element of surprise, though." Sasha finally spoke. She looked like she was about to breakdown any second. Yoshi couldn't look into her eyes. He felt like crying.

Crying? How could he cry over three dead Yoshis he had never seen? Was it the fact that there was no crime, no murders in the Yoshi Isle? Was it that they had died slow, painful deaths? Was it that they had died at the hands of these strange warriors? Were they the first martyrs of the approaching war? Approaching war? Why was he thinking there would be a war? If there were, would he be in it? On the front line? Would he be one of the first casualties? A war hero? A martyr? A general? Would he be a civilian? A traitor? Definitely not a traitor. Would he be maimed and handicapped for the rest of his life? Would he witness some of the most gruesome scenes he had ever laid eyes on? Would all of his friends die? Would it be an actual war or just extermination? Could this all be a dream? Maybe he'd wake up in his bed. There would be no light. No invaders or missing Yoshis. No strange sewers or rebel Yoshis living in a cave. No burning corpses and invaders in strange, ritualistic armor. None of it would be there. Nothing at all.

Nothing.

"Yoshi?" Sasha's voice brought him back from his living nightmare. She was looking at him, puzzled.

Yoshi shook his head. "I'm sorry. I'm just, well, shaken up." Helix nodded. Then he looked around.

"So what were we going to do, then? I mean, we can't just let this stand." He looked back at the camp. The soldiers showed no signs of leaving. This was either good or bad, depending on how you looked at their situation.

"Do you have anything incendiary with you?" Yoshi was eyeing Sasha's pack. Sasha threw it off and opened up the main pouch on it.

"Maybe…" She started searching. Yoshi kept nervously looking at the invaders over and over again. They kept up their quiet chatter, speaking amongst themselves no doubt about the killings.

"I got something, at least." Sasha pulled two small objects out of the backpack. They resembled badly made pineapple grenades. The grenades looked like they could collapse or accidentally blow up at any moment. "C.I.Ds. We call them crude incendiary devices, or C.I.Ds for short. Now what are you planning on using them for?"

"Well I was just thinking we could fight fire with fire." Yoshi wasn't quite sure of how he had ended up standing by these two Yoshi rebels, presenting a battle plan which would succeed or fail depend on the blast area of two homemade grenades. "Here it is: we through in the two C.I.Ds at opposite ends of the encampment, thus increasing the blast radius. Hopefully this will stun or maybe even kill them. We run in from three different directions and rush 'em. Maybe we can take them down before they know what the hell's going on. That's what I say we do."

"I'm liking this more and more." Helix grinned. "We kill these pathetic pieces of crap. Let's do it."

Sasha gave a weak nod, confirming that she was in. She handed Yoshi a C.I.D and pointed towards the opposite side of the camp of soldiers.

"You go over there and throw the C.I.D in when I give a signal."

This thought wasn't too appealing to Yoshi, who didn't really think that he was the type of person who would be throwing grenades at people. He had never handled anything like this before in his life. Why should he need to now?

"Exactly what," Yoshi began, "is the signal?"

Sasha thought to herself for a second. Then she spoke.

"How about…oh, screw this. Just throw it when you get to the other side." She looked at Helix. "Ready?"

Helix nodded. He didn't feel that he had anything to say. Words were not needed at this point. The three Yoshis understood this.

"Well, are you ready?" Now Sasha was talking to Yoshi. Yoshi realized what they were about to do. How could he refuse? These were three dead rebels who had been tortured until they died. How could you have the ability to avenge your fellow citizens and not? That was a question Yoshi would ponder later.

"I suppose. I'm probably not too good with these, though." Yoshi was hoping he would get a rundown on how to use these devices. He did not get one though, and Sasha pointed off to the side of the encampment opposite them. So this was it.

It took him a while, but eventually Yoshi managed to make his way around the camp without any branches on the ground cracking or any loose stones getting knocked about. Once he was over there he had a clear view of Sasha, Helix, and the soldiers in between them. He knew he'd have to throw the C.I.D any second now.

But how could he? He had never killed or even hurt anyone in his life! Now they expected him to blindly attack people he had never met? They did kill those Yoshis, though…but was he a killer? What would he do if he didn't throw that grenade? Crude incendiary devices weren't for him, he realized.

Yet he found himself raising his right arm with the C.I.D clutched in his right hand. He held onto it like it was the last bit of reality and sanity left in his life.

Then he let go. Let go both of the grenade and of his last hopes that he wouldn't be caught up in these bizarre events.

_Bang! _The grenade landed next to the fire pit and exploded in a burst of flames. Confused yelling and smoke. The smoke billowed out throughout the encampment and then _BANG! _Another one went off, and more flames leapt to the sky. The bodies of the invaders disappeared inside the hellish cloud.

Yoshi heard the sound of swords being drawn and he could see the outlines of Sasha and Helix dashing into the black and red cloud. Yoshi stared out, silent. He knew what he had to do. What else was there?

He drew his sword and walked, not ran into the fray. He heard steel hit steel and a second later a red mist sprayed him. He saw a figure slumping to the ground and prayed it was not one of his companions. The blood that had splattered onto his face and torso ran into his mouth and eyes. It was a bitter metallic taste that he wished he could not taste.

Something charged at him out of the smoky turmoil with a broadsword drawn. Yoshi stabbed out with the sword, instinct guiding him. Perhaps it was luck, or perhaps instinct is a greater guide than reason, but the sword struck against the broadsword and sounded with a terrible ringing noise. Almost unaware of himself, he brought the blade back up in a sweeping motion, hitting armor. He could see through the smoke that he had struck right under the armpit. There was a sick sound of flesh being cut and a groan. The sword struck out at him. It grazed his side, leaving a thin trail of blood. Yoshi retaliated by bringing up his foot and kicking the warrior's shin. The figure before him stumbled a bit. It brought the broadsword back up but out of nowhere a white line cut the smoke, and cut into the combatant's chest, sending more blood splattering onto Yoshi. The warrior crumpled to the ground, dead.

Yoshi looked up at the figure near him. It was Helix. His eyes were burning and his teeth were bared. He lowered the bloody sword.

"D-Dude!" Yoshi stuttered, "Helix, you freaking killed him!" He knew that was what Helix had planned on doing, but he was not used to seeing people getting cut down in front of him.

Helix didn't respond. He turned around and disappeared again, leaving Yoshi alone with smoke and blood stinging his eyes.

It was only another minute before Sasha let out a savage cry of triumph after impaling the final soldier on its own sword. All in all, only one soldier had been killed in the explosions. Helix took down two of them and Sasha took down two of them. They determined that Yoshi's grenade had taken down the first one.

Yoshi realized that he didn't like the feeling when you learned you just blew up someone. He felt kind of numb, but he wasn't numb enough to stop that sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. His eyes watered with despair and sadness. He had just killed someone. Yoshi almost felt like laughing because, quite simply, he had never thought of himself as a murderer.

Sasha clapped a hand on his shoulder. He looked at her; she was covered with blood as well. He could tell she knew what he was thinking.

Later, before they continued on, Helix insisted they bury the remains of the Yoshis. It was a dirty and unpleasant job, and very time consuming. Still, they buried them and covered the graves with stones to prevent any wild animals from digging them up. After they were buried, Helix and Yoshi burned the bodies of the killers. They didn't dare remove the masks or armor of the soldiers for fear of what might stare back at them through emotionless eyes glazed over with death.

Meanwhile, Sasha erected three wooden crosses above the graves. Sasha didn't write the names of the rebels on the wooden crosses for some reason. She never revealed why, either.

So it came about that is was past dark when the final body had been burned and the final cross erected that the Yoshis stood and surveyed their work. Yoshi thought about how they had gained some small measure of revenge. His mind would feel a bit lighter with the knowledge they had killed those who had killed other Yoshis.

So it was that at dawn the next day they came across what was left of the raft. It had been ripped to pieces, the logs and ropes that it was constructed out of cut apart and set drifting in the Rhineheart. Obviously this was a problem. Without a boat it would take them at least a week to travel on foot to Barg. That was without any interference and stopping, as well. What were they to do?

"Could we possibly head back to the base?" Yoshi knew the answer before it was given.

"No way." Helix shook his head. "Thorn would be furious that we hadn't completed the mission, no matter our excuse." All three thought on this as they watched the wreckage of their raft flowing out of sight in the quiet, gray waters of the Rhineheart.

They brainstormed. They argued. They talked and talked and kept talking. There was nothing, though. It seemed they were at the end of a dead end road.

"Maybe we could get to Barg in a matter of hours." Yoshi was thinking out loud to himself. "I mean, if I managed to make it to near Yoshmite in about the same time through that tunnel system, maybe we could?" Yoshi had a bad feeling about the reaction this would get.

"We don't know where that is, though." Sasha said. "Unless you remember the exact location of where it was." She was doubtful.

"I can kind of remember where it might have been. I mean, do you guys know where you found me?" Helix nodded.

"If you can take me there I'll be able to find my way to those sewers. Tunnels, I mean. Or whatever they are." Yoshi was beginning to think this might be a slightly outrageous idea, but he didn't care. He had thought and done many more strange things in the past few days.

It must have been a day. Perhaps more. Time had no meaning now. The only thing that had meaning was their mission. Such a simple mission it was. It was only to get visual confirmation of Yoshi's strange tale. Yet somehow this mission had cost three Yoshis their lives. They were dead though, and the dead are not as important as the living in most cases. These facts didn't keep a blue Yoshi, a yellow Yoshi and a green Yoshi from coming to the scorched spot where the soldier had attacked Yoshi.

Returning to this spot brought back those painful memories of fire and Yoshi once again grimaced down at his burns. The good thing was that these burns were healing, but they still stung. Pain was one thing he had to live with, though. He would survive.

"Well here we are. You've been telling us you could find your way from here?" Helix sounded a bit skeptical. He had a right to be, Yoshi thought. _There's no way in hell I can find my way to the exit. I'm lying to myself. I'm lying to everyone._

"Sure. It might take me a bit. I've got an idea where it is, though." With that Yoshi set off in a direction he picked randomly. He could not remember anything about that horrible day when he had come here. He tried remembering where he had entered the clearing and the directions he had wandered, but recollections of fire clouded his thoughts. He passed the next couple hours wandering while Sasha and Helix stood by at the burnt spot. Night was approaching quickly and he realized it was hopeless. The exit was lost somewhere in the depths of this endless forest. It was scouring the greatest desert in the world for a sign of water. However, luck shifted for a matter of milliseconds and that was enough to show him the way to the tunnels.

"He's done. He can't find it." Helix groaned to himself. "Where is he?"

"Dunno. He'll be back, soon, though." Sasha peered into the woods. Still no Yoshi. Where was he?

Meanwhile, Yoshi had found something that had made him want to shout. He couldn't believe it. Shining out like a bloodstain in a pure white room, the hole leading into the tunnels opened up before him. He laughed to himself, unable to believe his luck.

"I've…I freaking found it! I rock!" He gave himself a high-five. This was the best thing that had happened so far. Hopefully it would not be the last.

When Sasha and Helix arrived, they were amazed. Nobody had expected Yoshi to find this. Then how did he? It was amazing. Amazing and fortunate, it seemed.

Helix bent down and peered into the dark hole, which had used to have a grate that Yoshi removed. He thought he heard the faint buzzing and humming of machinery. Normally he would of thought that was crazy, but now he was beginning to suspect anything was possible. He stuck his head down the hole and drew it back as a pungent stench impacted his nostrils.

"These tunnels sure are stagnant. Wonder why they're abandoned." It brought up many questions that Helix knew they might never be able to answer. "We're going to need a light source, though. If only we had some gasoline we could make torches." He laughed to himself. "I've got a better idea, though. Come on." With that, Helix crawled onto the ladder and descended into the cold darkness of the mysterious tunnels. Sasha followed. Then, finally Yoshi followed. Thus began their long and bizarre journey.

Once at the bottom, there was a fizzling sound and Helix lit up a flare he had somehow produced from nowhere. It cast a glow around them. They were standing in an empty room with a small tunnel leading out of it and a ladder that they had just come down. Several smaller tunnels lead off in different directions, but they were so cramped that none of the Yoshis could fit. The only way was the tunnel, then.

As they walked, Yoshi studied their surroundings. The floor and walls and ceiling seemed to be made out of some type of bumpy, dark rock. Every now and then they would pass into a section made from metal. The surroundings were bleak, but this alien world was definitely not. They passed through hallways and rooms and into more hallways and rooms. There was nothing here. Every room had more hallways branching off, and every hallway had more rooms connected to it. This was a maze one could get trapped in and never find his or her way out, Yoshi thought.

The flare eventually went out, and as it did Helix lit another one. As he lit the second flare, though, they were all shocked at what had happened: their surroundings shifted! Doors disappeared and walls seemed to wobble and morph into new walls. They passed from standing in a hallway with three different exits to a large room with only one corridor leading away from it. The air in this room was thick with the smell of rust and around them ancient machines were humming. Machines? Why would machines be here? Yet there they were; huge boxlike structures that must have been polished metal at some point but were now no more than rusted shells. A barely noticeable warmth sprang from them, and they emitted an odd humming sound. Where was here, exactly? Yoshi couldn't believe he had been wandering through here and he had thought these were simple sewage tunnels! A second later a sickening smell came rushing at him and he reeled. Something pungent had drifted into the room.

"What is that smell?" Sasha had a disgusted look on her face, as did Helix.

"I'm not sure exactly." Helix said, trying not to be overwhelmed by the stench. "It could be ozone. I'm not sure, really." He stared at the tunnel. "It's coming from there. Something must be operating in there."

Sasha looked confused. "Ozone? Ozone's only produced by electrical discharges that come in contact with oxygen." She took a look at the dusty old machines around them and knew that anything was possible down here. "We probably don't want to wait around in tunnels filled with it, though." She turned and starting creeping towards the hallway, knowing that the only way out would be through there.

Yoshi and Helix followed reluctantly, but Yoshi's thought was still occupied with the fact that they had just been…he knew it sounded strange but teleported was the correct word…to some strange chambers full of alien mechanisms.

They came into the hallway and saw that it was not a hallway but another room, if you could call it that; the place was like the inside of a warehouse. The ceiling was high above them and the walls seemed to disappear. It was like a room in the house of a giant. In here were stored some of the strangest things Yoshi had ever seen: there were metal crates with small metal poles sticking out of the top of them. The crates were about the size of Yoshi, and the metal poles must have been three or four feet long. The poles were pointed at the end like a spike. They appeared lifeless…

There was a flash of blue light. So bright for a split second it illuminated the entire warehouse structure. During this flash, something flew down from the ceiling of the room and zapped the poles. Then all was dark again. They waited, confused and silent. Helix looked confused. Sasha looked confused. Yoshi knew that he was confused. A minute or two later there was another flash of light. This time in the momentary illumination Helix looked up and saw that there was actually no ceiling! After traveling upwards for a good ways the walls began curving inwards. In the center of the 'ceiling' the walls shot upwards again, forming a huge chute that came down into the room. Long, dark wires came out of the chute and they snaked their way along the ceiling. Stationed at the end of every wire was a metal spike like the ones on the crates. The next time there was a flash the Yoshis saw blue bolts of electricity coursing through the wires and shooting down the poles. They shot down and connected from the ceiling to the metallic crates. He wondered why somebody would be creating artificial lightning down here. Maybe the creator wasn't down here? Perhaps the strange invaders had chased him or her out. Or whoever had been working down here.

"You do know that there's no exit from here, right?" Helix told this to Sasha and Yoshi, who were too surprised to say anything. "You know that means that we're trapped in ozone-filled tunnels where we'll probably die." Helix was surprisingly calm.

Yoshi looked around but he knew that Helix was right; there was only one door and they knew where that lead. Maybe they could be teleported out of here just like they got teleported in…

"What do we do then?" Sasha blurted out. "I mean there's got to be something here we can do…" She looked around, confused as Yoshi and Helix. She knew there was nothing. They were going to die down here, miles beneath the surface of the planet.

"Well if we got teleported in here, maybe we can get teleported out." Helix turned around. "I say we check out those machines in the next room. Who knows, they might be some teleportation stations or something." Helix hurried off to check out the room, leaving Yoshi and Sasha alone in the warehouse structure.

Yoshi looked at Sasha and shrugged. Then he chased after Helix. Sasha shook her head and groaned. Then she, too, left.

Inside the small room full of the buzzing machines, Helix was busy studying them. He was pacing, crouching down, looking at part of a machine here or part of a machine there, then pacing again. Some were so covered with rust that they were nothing more than large red boxes. Luckily there were others that weren't covered with rust. These ones seemed to have no buttons nor levers nor anything else that you would find on computer consoles from sci-fi movies.

"Here we go!" Helix was triumphant, finally. He crawled onto the top of one of the boxes and looked down at something that was imprinted on the top of it. Yoshi crawled up after him, and then they helped Sasha up. Helix pointed down onto the machine. "Look." He smiled, "I think I've found something." At first Yoshi was unable to see anything on the top of the crate but then he could make it out: On the top of the crate was the design of an Ansate Cross, or ankh. Beneath it were words that Yoshi could not read. They were in some type of script he had never seen before. He could make out the separate letters, but there were so many dots and swirls and slashes that it all seemed one long string of symbols. This was a foreign language, obviously. No alphabet of this type had ever been used in the isle, to his knowledge.

"So what is it?" Sasha wasn't too impressed by Helix finding an Ansate Cross and some foreign words on the top of an old computer station in some dark tunnels that were abandoned.

"I don't know." Helix was annoyed, now. At least he had found something! "It's something, isn't it? I mean, sure it isn't the directions telling us how to escape but it does show that…uh…I don't know." His one moment of pride was gone. What they found was useless.

"Maybe it's some sort of code. Or something." Yoshi laid his hand on the symbol of the ankh and traced its pattern. He looked at the words. He couldn't even decipher the first word of it. It would take them days to figure anything out, and they'd probably be succumbing to the ozone by then.

"What the hell?" Helix had noticed something else on the top of the computer. He kneeled down and studied the ankh. "Look here!" Yoshi bent over to see what he was pointing at but just as he did Helix's flare went out again. "Damn it! Hold on a second." Another flare was lit. When their surroundings appeared again, Yoshi realized once more they were in a different location. The humming boxes were gone. The artificial lightning was gone. The strange language and the Ansate Cross were gone. The stench of ozone was gone. They were now in a long hallway that was actually had light in it! The light was a dim, green aura that seemed to come from nowhere and engulfed the whole tunnel. The floor was damp and water was dripping down onto them from the ceiling. Sasha looked up and saw that the ceiling was cracked and old. Water was steadily emerging from the cracks in the ceiling. At the end of this new tunnel was yet another ladder that climbed up and out of sight. Exhausted with ladders and these shifting catacombs, the three proceeded on.

"What was it you saw on top of that computer?" Helix had never had the chance to show it to Yoshi.

"It was nothing. I just thought I saw a crack in it. Too bad it wasn't anything." They kept walking. Once they reached the end of the hallway they looked up the ladder to see that where it ended was in darkness. Helix, who was still holding the third flare, climbed first. Sasha followed him and the two disappeared up the ladder. Finally Yoshi climbed up after Sasha. He looked up and saw Helix was at the top of the ladder. Then he heard Helix shouting something but he couldn't make it out. Sasha gave a short laugh and then was at the top of the ladder with Helix. The two were talking excitedly when Yoshi finally scaled the ladder and was at the top. The ladder came up into another hallway. However at the end of this was yet another ladder leading up. The one good thing about the next ladder was that it climbed up into the light of day! Sure enough, a small round hole was directly above the ladder with sunshine falling down and lighting up a small portion of the tunnel. With all three of them trying to talk and think at the same time, they scrambled down the remaining hallway and started ascending the ladder into daylight.

When Yoshi emerged from that dark pit he was overjoyed to see that they were in exactly where they had wanted to reach. Sure enough, here they were. Standing alone in the alley outside Yoshi's house. Or, what remained of Yoshi's house. The windows had been blown out and the building itself was blackened from fire. Yoshi could sense that the inside of the building must have been trashed and destroyed. He saw that the cobblestone alley and the street it was connected to were littered with bits of debris and scorch marks. It seems that Barg had not been spared. His thoughts flashed back to the completely destroyed ruins of the once great city of Yoshmite. At least there was still something of Barg left. Shocked with this city straight from hell, the three Yoshis carefully made their way out to the street by Yoshi's house. It was littered with so much wreckage that it seemed like one long trail of destruction winding through the quiet town. They saw the corpses of many Yoshis as they climbed over the chunks of debris. Was anyone here alive?

Then a sound distracted them from their musings. Two dirty Yoshis came out of a side street with sacks full of wreckage slung over their shoulders. One of them glared at the three while the other one came limping up. When he got closer they noticed there was a big, bloody gash on his left leg.

"What are you doing here?" He croaked. Then he looked at them. "You survivors?" Something was unsettling about this Yoshi who was covered with so much grime and dirt they couldn't even make out what his natural coloration was.

"I am. These two with me are, uh…" Yoshi wasn't quite aware of what he should say. Fortunately, the Yoshi interrupted him.

"You should leave. Nothing here for you but legionnaires, so you should spare yourselves." The Yoshi turned his back on them and began limping towards his companion. Helix caught up with him though.

"Where are you taking those sacks? What's in 'em?" The Yoshi turned around and glared at him.

"Salvage. We're going to go sell it to the legionnaires. They've been paying people to bring them stuff. Seems like they're building something. I don't really care though…it's none of my business." He turned his back on them again. Helix wouldn't let him leave, though.

"What do you mean when you call them legionnaires?"

The Yoshi turned around. A smile broke onto his face.

"You're stupider than you look, aren't you? Everybody knows that they're called legionnaires. They have these posters up everywhere…" The dirty Yoshi turned around and pulled something out of the sack. He showed it to Helix. It turned out that it was a yellow piece of paper, ripped in several places. On it were the words THE LEGION with an artist's depiction of the soldiers the Yoshis had seen.

"So," the Yoshi began, "we figured they'd be called legionnaires. You have any more questions or have you not been living under a rock for the past couple days?" Yoshi turned around, still clutching the yellow paper. He walked back towards Yoshi and Sasha.

"Well." When he spoke his voice was as quiet as he could make it without whispering. "I think we've got our visual confirmation. The only trouble now is figuring everything out."

"What about getting back to our base?" Sasha interrupted. She was pretty sure he hadn't thought of how they were going to do that.

"It's simple." Helix said calmly. Yoshi was glad he could stay calm in this strange situation. "All we have to do is go into those tunnels and follow them again. We just retrace our steps, that's all." This didn't reassure Yoshi or Sasha.

"That's too bad because I can't remember my steps through there." Yoshi didn't want to spend more time in those weird passages.

As Helix was thinking about this, Yoshi began formulating a new argument. It was hard though, considering he was more interested in studying the shell of his hometown. It was so strange, he thought, because he had never imagined that he would be standing here in the ruins of Barg with two Yoshis he didn't even know that well. It just seemed to prove that unexpected events could happen anywhere, anytime.

"Well I guess no one is really excited to go back through those tunnels. Come on, though. I mean, we don't really have a choice. Unless you want to walk a very long ways."

Yoshi shook his head. "I guess you're right. I'll have to agree with you on this one." He hated to admit that this was their best course of action. Sasha agreed and it seemed they had their minds made up. They would go back through the tunnels.

So it was that Yoshi passed from Barg to those strange and dark tunnels to the area outside of Yoshmite to the rebel base to the area around Yoshmite to the same dark tunnels to Barg again and then back to the same tunnels. This time the journey through them was easier and they were never trapped in any strange areas and they never lost their way completely. Though it was rough going because of the numerous times they were teleported to different sections of the tunnels, they managed to find their way to the end without being delayed by any bizarre event and in a short period of time. It seemed that their journey was over when once again they emerged into daylight, this time in the same location near Yoshmite that they had entered from. It was early morning when they appeared near Yoshmite, and it took them most of the day to reach the base. When they did reach the cave it was only an hour or two before nightfall. A guard at the entrance of the cave welcomed them back and took them to Thorn's living quarters. He was in there; eager to hear whatever they had to say.

"So?" Thorn was interested in what had happened.

"First of all," Sasha began, "we found out that Fire Team A has been killed. Five soldiers ambushed them and killed them. We took down their killers and buried them. Then we found out that our boat had been destroyed as well. So Yoshi said that we could get to Barg through the tunnels he took. Then he showed us the way there and we found the entrance. We got down into the tunnels and followed them for a way before something weird happened. I know you probably won't believe this but the tunnels actually _shifted _around us." Thorn was silent, his mouth hanging open slightly in a dumbfounded manner. Sasha let Helix start speaking. "We showed up in this place that was full of old machines and strange crates. There were these machines there that were creating some type of electrical current. I'm not sure what their purpose was, really. Then we noticed some strange writing and symbols on a couple of the computers. Then we were teleported into another corridor. We followed this for a bit before we found our way out and into Barg! I know." He noted the look on Thorn's face, which was a mixture of shock, confusion and disbelief. Thorn then told about their encounter with the two salvagers, the explanation about the legion, and their short trip back through the tunnels. He retold everything up to the beginning of the conversation. When he was finished, Thorn sat and stared at them. The room was quieter than death, and it seemed to stay that way for a long, long time.

Eventually, when Yoshi realized how creepy this was getting, Thorn spoke.

"I guess I have no choice but to believe you." Thorn stood up. "I'm sorry I thought you might have been lying, Yoshi. It's just that that sounded a bit fantastic. Of course I think we all know a lot of more fantastic things have been happening lately." Thorn extended his hand towards Yoshi. "Welcome to the underground." Yoshi shook his hand. "That was your first mission, and it was successful, I suppose." Thorn started walking over to a small file drawer in the corner of the room. As he walked he began talking. "While you were gone a received a message from a little birdie…" he reached the drawer and opened it. He pulled out a white manila folder and opened it up. He took out a couple papers and sat down at his desk again. He pulled a stapler out of one of the desk's drawers and stapled the pile of papers together. He put the stapler and the folder in his desk. "Take a look at that. I think you'll find it somewhat interesting about the tunnels you found."

The papers were an assortment of reports written by various authors and news clips from the Yoshi Isle and Mushroom Kingdom. Yoshi and Sasha peered over Helix's shoulder as he read them aloud.

There was one report by an anonymous Yoshi author going under the alias of 'Chickenwing' that was interesting. It gave a detailed account of two Yoshi military scientists experimenting with various top-secret technologies. This was obviously full of propaganda as it continually lied about experiments being done on Yoshis and secret military organizations. It did, however mention a super-secret lab underneath the town of Barg where various weapons were being made and tested by these two Yoshi scientists. Then there was a news clip from an old magazine from the Mushroom Kingdom in which there was an interview with a toad who had supposedly been taken to a Yoshi lab and had been subjected to various biological weapons. Another interview was with an anonymous Yoshi official who said that there were indeed laboratories and various testing grounds all over the isle in which Yoshis were testing new weapons. The least convincing one came in the form of a report by an anonymous Yoshi who said that aliens had landed and formed a staging ground for their invasion of the planet. He said that they had dug a cavern to hide their spaceship and that during the night they would leave and brainwash innocent Yoshis into helping them build a huge cannon that would be used to melt the polar ice caps and flood the world. The best one though was the second report by Chickenwing. In this report he or she named the two scientists working on the project. They were named Malachi and Galalc, and they were well known for their work together on the effects of several pesticides and chemicals on the wildlife of Yoshi Isle. It said that they had worked together with the military to create a testing ground for various weapons that could be used in case of war. Chickenwing also mentioned that everything from invisibility suits to aural and visual implants to transporting technology was created in this lab. A news clip published shortly after this report came out mentioned that Malachi had died in a laboratory accident when two wrong chemicals combined and resulted in a small explosion that killed everyone in the lab. It said that Galalc was not in the lab at the time and shortly after the lab incident he moved out of the isle and to the Mushroom Kingdom where he served as one of Peach's advisors for a month or two before retiring to live a quiet life in a secure location.

"So somebody knew about this." Helix looked at Thorn. Thorn nodded, and then he got up.

"I have a new mission for you all. Well, two missions to be precise. For Yoshi and Helix, I want you two to go to the entrance of the tunnels near Yoshmite. There will be two soldiers waiting there with enough explosives to seal the entrance to the sewers. You will plant the explosives and seal off the sewers on this side. That will mean none of these legionnaires will be able to get here from Barg. For Sasha…" he turned to her and folded his arms over his chest. "You have a very important mission. You are going to find Galalc for us."

"What? We don't even know if he's alive!"

"We do know that he is alive, actually." Thorn leaned back in his chair. "Trust me on that. We also know exactly where in the Mushroom Kingdom he's living. Your mission is to reach him and bring him to us as-soon-as-possible. We've got a soldier waiting to brief you and instruct you on how to reach him. So," Thorn stood up, "Yoshi and Helix will seal the tunnels with the help of our technicians and Sasha will find and bring Galalc back here by any means necessary." Helix handed him the stapled papers. "Consider it done, Thorn." Helix and Yoshi wished Sasha luck with her mission and then quickly left. Once back in the main room of the base, they began talking.

"This sounds easy enough. Meeting two demo experts and blowing up a hole in the ground doesn't sound too challenging." Yoshi was talking as they began leaving for the entrance to the base. Helix said nothing until they had left the base and came out into the crisp, cold nighttime. Then he began to discuss the legionnaires, the tunnels, and all the other strange things with Yoshi. The two soldiers had started out on the way to the tunnel entrance a bit before them, since they would need time to get there and unpack their explosive cargo. It would be a long walk, and they were already tired, but Thorn had allowed them no R and R so they really had no choice. They did take a long break after they were well on their way, though. That break ended up becoming a break for the night. They woke up all the earlier the next morning, though and were once again on their way to meet with the demolitions crew.

"Yoshi, did I ever tell you I've got a brother in the underground?" Helix asked him as they made their way during the early morning when the sun had barely risen. Yoshi shook his head. "Yeah. His name is Ragnarok. He's taller than me, reddish color…I just felt I should mention that. I haven't had much of a chance to talk with him though. He's always out on these week long scouting escapades Thorn sends him on. Those two haven't ever gotten along, really. I'm pretty sure Thorn sends him out for so long is to keep him away from the base, but Rag is pretty happy with it all. He doesn't mind being out in the wild for so long." They continued their journey for the rest of the day, trading stories and information about their relatives. Eventually they reached the entrance to the tunnels during twilight. Waiting for them were two Yoshis of the most contrasting appearances: one was tall and thin. The other was short and fat. It sounded so clichéd to think that but it was true. The tall one was a blue-green color and introduced himself as Jabun. He introduced his friend as Groucho. Groucho was short and looked reddish-orange. The strange pair was apparently the demolitions people Thorn had mentioned.

"We've already unpacked the explosives but we're gonna need you guys to show us where we should place them." Jabun explained. He pointed to four wooden crates with the large black letters "F-R-A-G-I-L-E" printed all over them.

"Right." Yoshi looked at Helix, wondering what to say next. "Just follow us…?" Helix, Yoshi, Groucho and Jabun each took a crate and carefully descended into the darkness of the tunnels. Helix had them place two of them around the hallway leading out of the room with the ladder and the other two at the top of the ladder, around the hole in the ground. After all of them had been placed, Jabun lead them to a safe distance away from the tunnel entrance. Then he produced a remote control. It was dotted with many buttons but Jabun only needed to press one to set off the explosives. He pressed a button and-

_Boom! _A flash of light accompanied by long strands of smoke and fire shooting up out of the ground around the entrance. The crates disappeared and a single ball of fire rose out of the ground like a phoenix before dissipating in the twilight air. All that remained was smoke now. It was all over.

"Sweetness!" Helix laughed to himself. The four Yoshis inspected the remains of the entranceway and were pleased that nothing but a burnt chunk of land remained where the black hole had been.

"I suppose we should start heading back, then." Jabun shrugged. "I mean, our mission's done and everything." Everyone agreed that this would be a good idea. So they began their journey back to headquarters.

It was the same time the next night when the four Yoshis arrived at the headquarters of the rebels. They met with Thorn, gave a breakdown of the mission and were told that Sasha had not sent any word confirming that she had reached the Mushroom Kingdom. Thorn told them that they had no more missions at that moment, so they could feel free to rest.

This was the first time that Yoshi had time to simply lounge around the base and meet with rebels. There was the guard who seemed to always be posted at the entrance to the base. He was green like Yoshi and was always wearing a pair of sunglasses. There was a red one named Carlov who was a scout like Helix's brother. Manochevitz was a small green Yoshi whose specialty was espionage and sabotage. Then there was Ragnarok, called Rag by just about everyone, who worked as a scout as well. Helix introduced the two to each other one day. Nothing really stood out about Ragnarok except that he resembled a taller Helix who wasn't blue but red. He was only around for a couple hours before he left on a long trip to scout out the town of Yoshin. Yoshin was almost like a carbon copy of Yoshmite. It was about the same size of Yoshmite, but was located far east of it.

Shortly after Ragnarok left, they received word of Sasha and Galalc. It wasn't good, but it was something. When the message came in, Thorn called Yoshi and Helix into his quarters. He was standing inside with the scout, Carlov. Carlov was explaining something that Thorn was obviously upset with. When Yoshi and Helix entered, Thorn dismissed Carlov.

"What's up?" Helix didn't want to sound confused at what was going on.

"Shit. That's what up." Thorn seemed to be slightly irritated, Yoshi laughed to himself. "Guess what Carlov told me?"

"I don't know. Am I supposed to?" Helix knew Thorn was about to explode.

"A little birdie sent us word that Sasha found Galalc and was on her way back to the isle." Thorn closed his eyes and took a deep breath. "The boat Sasha had taken to the Mushroom Kingdom was interrupted when it got into the waters around the isle. A gunboat crewed by legionnaires found them and captured them. The worst part is where we hear they're being taken."

"Where's that?" Yoshi decided it would be best if he said something. He realized just how much he was hoping the two weren't being taken to a death camp.

"The port town of Bongo-Kongo. Yes. That is a town name." Thorn drew a map of Western Yoshi Island out of his desk. He had marked where the base was with a red X. Yoshi noticed several towns on the map: Barg, Yoshmite, Yoshin, a port town called Sarasagua, the mining town of Thrall…the list went on and on.

"I see Bongo-Kongo." Helix looked down at the map and pointed out a small dot on the eastern shore of the island, just a bit away from the town of Yoshin. A bit to the west of Yoshin was their base and a bit further west from the base was Yoshmite. "Why are they going there?"

"This is why. Carlov showed me this picture he had taken of the bay that Bongo-Kongo is built around." Thorn set a black-and-white photograph on the desk. It was of a small bay surrounded by gothic stone buildings. The landscape was covered under a blanket of torrential rain. Trees and bushes grew right up to the waterline, and a small treeless island was in the center of the bay. Half a dozen gunboats patrolled the waters, though, and on the island in the center of the bay a windowless stone tower shot up. It had several balconies jutting off of it. "That is where they're being taken. That tower." Thorn took the photo and put it back in his desk. "We cannot allow Galalc to fall into the hands of the legion. They could brainwash him, torture him, or anything else to gain information. They would probably find out about these tunnels and use them against us. We can't let that happen, you see." Thorn started pacing, his eyes darting around the room. "We need to get Sasha and Galalc back before anything happens to them. I'm entrusting this mission to you two." He looked at them with a hard expression. "Helix is one of our best and I know that there's nothing seriously wrong with you, Yoshi. I know how hard and dire this sounds but I want you to get to that tower by any means necessary and get-back-those-Yoshis. You can enlist any help you need. Feel free to take any soldiers, equipment or information you need. Got it?" Thorn turned his back to them. "I wish there was another way but this is the only possibility we have of getting them back. I recommend you take a stealthier approach to this mission than you might normally. There are swarms of legionnaires around Bongo-Kongo; it seems to be one of the most guarded places they've captured."

"Doesn't sound like we've got too much of a choice. You can count on us." Helix turned around to Yoshi. "Let's go. Every second we waste is another second until Sasha and Galalc are either killed or tortured until they spill all the information the legion needs to come here and kill us."

"You put it so eloquently. Let's get a move on." Yoshi turned around to Thorn again. "Helix put it best, sir: you can count on us." With that, Yoshi and Helix left and gathered their supplies. They left the base without any goodbyes or conversations. Once outside the base they formulated their plan of action.

"I doubt we'll find any teleporting sewage tunnels to transport us there in a matter of hours so we'll probably have to walk."

"Yeah. That'll take us awhile but it might just be the safest route we can take." Yoshi began thinking. "Your brother, Ragnarok…he was going to be near Yoshin, right?" Helix nodded. "Maybe we can get him to help us out. I mean, we'll probably pass through Yoshin on the way there so we could take a bit of extra time and find him. He might be helpful when we're infiltrating Bongo-Kongo." Yoshi decided to throw out that idea simply because he didn't want to be trying to get into a heavily guarded legion tower with only Helix and a couple rations. His companion thought this over for a second.

"Why not? We could easily find him. Good idea. So we walk to Yoshin and hook up with Ragnarok. Then we walk the rest of the way to Bongo-Kongo and what do we do once we're there?"

Yoshi came up with a split-second plan. "Then we sneak into the city, steal a gunboat and make our way to the tower. We abandon the boat and infiltrate the tower. Avoiding all legionnaires we make our way into the tower and sneak into the dungeons where Sasha and Galalc are only seconds away from cracking under torture. We fight off a hundred legionnaires with only our bare hands and rescue them. Then we escape the tower just as it explodes. We easily make our way back here where we are celebrated as war heroes. Galalc tells us the secrets of those strange tunnels and we use them to win the war. Yoshi Isle goes back to normal and we are national heroes who have our own holidays named after us. We become rich, famous and we fall in love with the most beautiful women in the isle, then we each have a whole bunch of children who go on to create world peace, end world hunger, and discover life on other planets." Helix grinned.

"Yeah. That sounds like a good plan." They turned and faced in the general direction of Yoshin and Bongo-Kongo. Yoshi guessed that things were going to get very rough, very soon.


	4. Chapter 3: Incarceration

**Yoshi Underground**

_Authored by Santuh Klozzy_

_You've probably read this part before, so I won't bother telling you "I don't own Mario. I do own…" Because you've probably heard all that before, haven't you?_

**Chapter 3. Incarceration**

The journey to Yoshin was a hard one. There were miles and miles of dense river valleys to pass through, and there were miles and miles of woodland littered with massive stones and trees. There was a highway that Helix and Yoshi could of followed, but that was patrolled by legionnaires, which increased their risk of getting caught by ninety percent by Helix's estimations.

On their second day of traveling, they had stopped by a refreshing creek to rest for a bit during midday. There was nothing but boulders around the creek. In the distance there was a small forest. Beyond that a tree-lined ridge and beyond that the valley that Yoshin was located in.

"How much longer do you reckon it'll take for us to get to Yoshin?" Yoshi inquired. His feet were getting blisters after two days of hiking without hardly any breaks. Once they got to Yoshin they'd be able to stop for at least a while as they searched for Ragnarok.

"I don't know. If we keep going at our current rate, I'd probably say a day. Maybe more if we're slowed down." _That's rich. _Yoshi thought to himself. _No chance in hell we can travel for another day like this. _"Suppose we should get up and keep going." Helix straightened up and waited for Yoshi to get up. "We've got a long hike ahead of us."

They spent the rest of that day and the next day hiking through this rocky area and the small forest on the other side of it. It was twilight of the next day when they finally came up onto a ridge and saw the ruins of Yoshin rising up in the distance. It was a welcome sight, but the journey there would be harder than the journey to this point.

The longer Yoshi and Helix went, their breaks became much more frequent and longer. They got slower and slower, and every breath Yoshi took and every step he went forward felt like it would be his last. He was sure the same was with Helix, who's breathing had become labored and who trudged along with his feet dragging and his head sagging. Neither of them was accustomed to hiking so much. Yet the hiking paid off as they eventually reached Yoshin the next day around midday.

It was easy to tell that Yoshin was only half of what it had once been. While there were no fires or mounds of rubble like in Barg and Yoshmite, the whole city had the feel that it had been forgotten and neglected. Doors hung ajar, and the streets were littered with trash and scattered tools and weapons. There were no sounds at all in the city; a curtain had fallen over the place, muting it. Yoshi didn't know why Ragnarok would be scouting around here. This city was desolate and abandoned.

It must have been mid-evening when they found Ragnarok. They found him sneaking around the base of an empty guard tower after an hour or two of searching. He was wearing military fatigues and a small backpack full of supplies. At first he was confused when Helix and Yoshi appeared out of nowhere asking for his help in a mission they had. Eventually, after they explained what had happened, he agreed that he'd come with them. Welcome news to Yoshi, who was glad that there would be somebody with them. Things always seemed harder when you were by yourself. He supposed that at least Helix was there, but nonetheless he was glad to have Ragnarok onboard.

"So, how exactly are we going to break them out of the legion's tower?" Neither Helix nor Yoshi had thought of that. They greeted him with silence and he knew that there was no plan. "Any ideas at all?" Ragnarok was starting to think this wasn't the smartest thing they'd ever done. Helix sighed.

"No. We have no plan, really. Yoshi and I were trying to figure on out before we found you but that didn't work out." Helix's eyes darted around, nervously. "We had a basic plan of action figured out but we hadn't really gotten all the fine details, yet."

"Well, what's your _basic plan of action,_ then?" Ragnarok wasn't expecting a very good plan. He didn't get one.

"We figured we'd sneak into Bongo-Kongo and then we'd hijack one of their boats. We'd sail on over to their tower and bust in. We'd locate the dungeons and save Galalc and Sasha. Does that sound like a good idea?" Helix knew the answer before Ragnarok delivered it.

"No. It's going to be nearly impossible to pull off. I mean, we don't know how many legionnaires are in the city and tower, and we don't know where to find a boat and there might not even be one to hijack. Even if we managed to hijack one, there's no guaranteeing we could make it to the island without getting killed. We don't even know how to sneak into the city, so we probably don't have to worry about getting that far. I could keep going, but I won't for time's sake." Ragnarok looked around, shaking his head. "You're going to have to do better than that, please." It was now that Yoshi realized he wasn't that fond of Ragnarok. The guy didn't seem to do anything except critique their plan. He could of tried suggesting something or doing anything that would be helpful to them. Of course he wasn't about to do anything like that. That's not the way Ragnarok worked.

"What are we supposed to do then?" Maybe this would get him to say something constructive.

"Don't look at me for answers. You two are the ones who came here looking for me." It seemed Ragnarok wasn't going to be agreeable at all. Yoshi was starting to think having him along would be more of a hassle than anything else.

"Oh don't give me that bull." At least Helix knew what he was doing. "Stop being such an idiot. If our plan sucks why don't you give us your take on a plan?" Ragnarok looked around and shuffled his feet slowly.

"Well…we could go with your plan, but I've got a bad feeling about it-" Helix cut him off before he could say another word.

"Good. Now that we're seeing at the same level maybe we could hurry up and get on with the mission." He turned to Yoshi, "Yoshi, you got any problems with sneaking into the city, stealing a boat and infiltrating the legion's tower?" Yoshi shook his head and Helix turned back to Ragnarok, a triumphant look on his face. "It seems that we're going with our plan. Come on, we've got a ways to go to get to Bongo-Kongo." With that, Helix, Yoshi and Ragnarok set off towards their next destination.

It was several tense days to reach Bongo-Kongo. There were many more dense valleys that had to be crossed, and every one of them brought the chance of an ambush with it. Yet these valleys had to be crossed, and cross them the three Yoshis did. It was at the end of these days that Bongo-Kongo came into sight. It was hard to decide if it was good or not that the town was in sight. On one hand it meant the long and rough journey was over, but on the other hand it meant that now was when things got harder. Eventually they reached the walls of Bongo-Kongo. Now all that was left was how were they going to infiltrate it. This was the hard part, because they had not really figured it out.

"So what now?" Ragnarok stretched his arms out. He was hoping that Helix and Yoshi would have some decent plan. Once again, however, he got nothing. It seemed that this was the most spontaneous mission he had ever been on. After a bit of thinking, Yoshi and Helix came up with a plan.

"Here's what we do." The three huddled and Helix laid out the plan. "We're going to march right in the front gate. I mean, come on. Who would ever expect that? Three Yoshis coming right in through the front door! Seriously though, in all seriousness, that's what we're going to do, right Yoshi?" Yoshi nodded. "If anybody stops us we just act like we're from the city. That's all, really. You got a problem with that, Rag?"

Ragnarok was stunned. He had heard his fair share of strange ideas and plans from these two but that was absolutely insane. He couldn't think of a better one right on the spot, though, so he knew they'd go with that.

"Okay. Fine. Just don't come crying to me when we're going to all be killed." So, Helix thought, it was clear what they'd do. He was surprised at the fact that they were actually going through with a plan that was sure to backfire, _but hell_, he thought, _there could be a worse plan._

And so three Yoshis: a red one, a blue one, and a green one came to the gates of Bongo-Kongo. They were ready for anything, so you can only suspect their surprise when they were greeted with nothing. That's right. Nothing at all greeted them at the gates. A couple of the strange legionnaires glanced at them as they entered but no one stopped them. They saw a couple Yoshis wandering the streets, their eyes replaced with sunken pits that showed only sadness and anger.

"Why do you think they're letting Yoshis wander the streets?" Yoshi whispered quietly so that no one could hear him.

"I don't know…" Ragnarok glanced around and saw two legionnaires studying them. "They might be using them for labor. Or they simply don't care what the Yoshis do. I'm not sure, really."

The next hour was a tense one as grim Yoshis and the legionnaires were constantly eyeing them. They spent that hour wandering up and down the city docks, looking for the signs of a boat or raft that they could claim as their own.

The fates shifted for the shortest second, but it was enough to point them to exactly what they needed: a private marina for the rich, no doubt. No one seemed to need it now, but luckily the pleasure boats and yachts that had been kept there remained, unharmed. It seemed that the Yoshis had found their way to the island.

The marina was a building, closed on all sides except for one that was facing the open bay. It had one door leading into it and was only room. The room was large and most of it was a shallow pool where the boats were kept. There was a short water-filled trench that lead out of the marina, giving the boats a way to leave the confines of the marina's pool and enter the bay of Bongo-Kongo.

Yet the fates shifted their position once again, this time bringing unluckiness with them. This unluckiness came in the form of the two legion guards who sat at the entrance to the marina. One had a mask that seemed to be in the form of some spider. The other's mask was that of a lion.

"You can't come in here. This marina is off-limits to all Yoshis." The spider-masked one said. "Leave now or else we're force you to leave." He laughed to himself. There was something about that laugh that left Yoshi feeling scared. There was something bad in that laugh. He couldn't place it but whatever it was, he wanted nothing to do with it.

It was then that Ragnarok struck without warning. He drew a hunting knife out of his backpack and slid it into the armor of the spider-masked legionnaire quickly and without a word. Sensing that this was what they should do as well, Helix and Yoshi drew their swords and rushed at the lion-masked soldier, knocking him to the ground and slicing him apart. The two confused legionnaires only lasted a couple seconds before the three Yoshis cut them down and made their way into the marina, unopposed.

They were unopposed, at least, until the two bodies were found by a half dozen legionnaires who were patrolling. They heard the sounds of the Yoshis barricading themselves inside the marina building. The door was locked and anything the Yoshis could find was piled up in front of the door, effectively sealing them in. Now the search for a boat was on.

"Get something to get this barricade down. I don't care if it's explosives or a battering ram, but just get me something!" The commander of the legionnaires started barking at his troops, who followed his orders without a word.

In the marina, the three Yoshis had selected a boat that could fit all three of them. It was small enough to hopefully outrun any legion gunboats that would pursue them through the bay and to the island with the tower.

As they were loading onto the boat, though, the legion commander's wishes were granted and a short series of explosions blew the makeshift barricade to pieces. The Yoshis began to sail down the watery trench and into the open water, but the legionnaires were going to reach the ship and climb aboard before they made it.

"Well guys, it's been fun as hell." Ragnarok looked over the side of the boat and at the group of legionnaires chasing after them. "You do know we won't make it?" Helix, who was steering the boat, nodded. "Well then I figure we're going to need someway to slow them down so we can get to the waters." Ragnarok looked nervously over the side of the boat again. He shook his head. "Now I don't want you to think I'm doing this to be a hero but I'm going down there. It's either that or else we get boarded and killed." Yoshi was sitting behind Helix and didn't know what his expression was.

"You serious?" Helix wasn't too supportive of letting his own brother go down there and get himself killed just so they could escape into the bay waters. "No way. Why can't Yoshi or me go?"

"Because you're the only person here who can pilot this thing and Yoshi would just get trampled. I don't care what you say, bro, I'm going." Those were Ragnarok's last words as he vaulted over the side of the boat and onto the marina floor. He fell against the legionnaires, temporarily halting them. Yoshi wasn't aware of what Helix was shouting. He had just watched some Yoshi he didn't even know that well hurl himself off the side of a boat and down into certain death just so that his brother and some other Yoshi could get out of there and go on what would likely be a suicide mission. Helix was still shouting something, but Yoshi wasn't listening. Ragnarok at least gave them time like he promised and they pulled into the semi-safety of the waters of the Bongo-Kongo bay area.

Back in the marina, Ragnarok was lying on his back on the cold stone floor. He looked above him and saw the legionnaires passing him. He wasn't sure how many he had taken down or slowed, but it did not matter. Yoshi and Helix were safe in their boat. Hopefully they wouldn't get themselves blown up by a gunboat, Ragnarok laughed to himself and felt blood gurgle up in his throat. He was about to die. Then, as if someone sensed his thoughts, a voice spoke to him. The speaker was standing above him, out of his range of sight.

"Look at you. You sad, sad excuse for a 'rebel' or whatever you call yourself. So close to death…" the voice trailed off and then came back with a sadistic tone. "You will not die today, however. You will live." The speaker started saying something else, but Ragnarok's world went completely black and he neither heard nor saw no more. As he was half-dead and unconscious, the legionnaires carried him away while the speaker boarded a gunboat and set off for the tower. He knew why the Yoshis were going there, and he would stop them no matter what happened.

That was how Ragnarok, bloodied and nearly dead, was captured and incarcerated by the enemy and would not be seen or heard from for many a day after that.


	5. Chapter 4: Triumph and Failure

**Yoshi Underground**

_Authored by Santuh Klozzy_

_After a long hiatus, Santuh Klozzy is back. Well here is the last chapter of the firstYoshi Underground story. Cheers._

**Chapter 4. Triumph and Failure**

Out on the waters of the bay by the port town of Bongo-Kongo, the small yacht that Yoshi and Helix had stolen was making its way quickly towards the small, rocky island and tower. In the distance, several gunboats drifted lazily along their patrol routes. There were a couple of these patrollers that shifted their courses and began heading in the direction of Helix and Yoshi. This did not bother them; they would be at the island long before the boats reached them.

"Well we're on our way, I suppose." Yoshi tried sparking up a conversation or anything. Helix said nothing. His thoughts were still focused on Ragnarok and what had transpired at the marina. "Right. Well…" Yoshi's voice left him. He didn't know what to say to comfort Helix, so he chose to say nothing. This was how the rest of their trip to the island passed. In the distance the gunboats kept closing in, aware that they'd probably be too late to catch up with them. There was nothing but the sound of the boat's sails flapping in the wind and the water splashing past them. No sound of the gunboats' cannons. No conversation or talk between the two. No distant sounds or noises at all. It seemed like they were in the eye of the storm. There was no motion except for the slow moving dots and the water flying by. This kept up until they reached the island.

What they saw when they got to the tower was much different than what they had seen from the shore. The tower was so much larger than they had anticipated; it rose up a good ten or fifteen floors into the sky. It was dull gray and made from some type of sturdy stone that made a clinking, metallic sound when you rapped on it. It was perfectly cylindrical and windowless. The only thing ruining the perfect, smooth surface of the tower were the numerous balconies that dotted the sides of the tower. There were no lookouts on these balconies, though. It seemed that there were no guards here. However there was one empty gunboat that was beached on the rocky shore a bit away from their yacht. It seemed that someone had landed here before them and gone on inside the tower. Yoshi wondered if the tower had a garrison or if the crew of the silent gunboat were the only other legionnaires here. It didn't matter at the current second, though. With these thoughts weighing heavy on their minds, Helix and Yoshi proceeded towards the main entrance to the tower. They were not quite aware of what lay inside.

Inside the tower, the legionnaire that had captured Ragnarok was pacing back and forth in a circular stone room at the top of the tower. The sides of the room were covered with black and gold mosaics depicting scenes of various creatures being sacrificed. The only exit was a small, circular iron trapdoor in the center of the room. The floor was covered with hundreds of candles, arranged into geometric patterns. The legionnaire knew that this room had no true purpose. The legion had the rest of the war to think of a purpose for it. He supposed it would be used for ceremonies or rituals. Perhaps it would be a room for prayer or meetings. That was not determined at the present time, however. The legionnaire looked at the many thick, white candles that dotted the room's floor and cast a flickering glow throughout it. He stopped and looked at his hands. They were covered in thick, red gloves made from a heavy and leathery cloth. These gloves covered the numerous scars and mutilations his hands had suffered during his work for the legion. He looked at his robes. They were long and made of the same red cloth. His entire body was covered with this red material. Except for his face, which he hid behind a crimson and gold mask that was in the likeness of a bird. He had heard the name of the bird before. It was called a raven. He had never seen of or heard of a raven before but he liked it very much. He figured that did not need to know why. This mask had been forged long ago when he had finally been promoted to his current position. After his promotion he donned his knew robes and mask, signals of his status and power but also shields to hide his wretched body. He also had a hood made from the same material that he wore constantly. Between the hood, the mask, the gloves, and the long blood-red robes, he had managed to successfully hide every part of himself from view. Anybody who knew what the commander looked like had either forgotten or died. He figured he was special in some way. Perhaps the gods wanted no other living being to see the darkness that consumed his corporeal self. The commander brought his gloved hands to his mask, about to remove it. Then a voice came to him, halting his removal of the signature mask.

"Kine. You are needed." The man known as Kine turned about, seeing the figure of another legionnaire climbing slowly out of the trapdoor. This legionnaire was dressed in the traditional soldier's armor. Reddish in color with gold and blue designs on it and a mask of some strange animal Kine could not identify easily. "They have reached the tower. They are here, now. As we speak. Ein Virgil begs you to allow us to move the hostages to a safer location. Though I doubt that it is needed, Ein Virgil still begs, no _demands _that you allow us to move them. What shall I tell the Ein?" Kine was slow in response. If he wanted to, he could order the Ein executed, but now was not the time for their dislike of each other to get in the way of the current situation. The Ein, or commander of the legion's troops at Bongo-Kongo, was jealous of Kine's influence in the legion. Every soldier, every other Ein, and every other warrior in allegiance with the legion knew it. At least most of them knew it, anyways. Kine took his time, knowing that nothing in this world could harm him, the tower's garrison, or the hostages.

"Tell Ein Virgil that when I deem the situation too dangerous, I will give the order to extract the Yoshi prisoners and move them to a…safer location. Since this should infuriate the Ein, tell him as well that there will probably be no safer location than here at the Ein's tower. If this does not anger the Ein enough, convey the message that Sir Kine of the First Order of The Steel-Eaters believes that his tower fails to portray the picture of grandeur that he envisioned it to have. Tell him this." Kine turned his back to the legionnaire who grunted in acknowledgment and left. It would not be long now. Kine laughed to himself as he thought of how Ein Virgil would stop the public humiliation that would ensue when he would let the Yoshis through his grasp. It seemed natural that Virgil would fail to keep the hostages safe.

At the base of the tower, Yoshi and Helix were exploring the apparently lifeless entrance hall of the fortress. Why were there no guards rushing to attack them? It could have been a trap. _Too late now. _Yoshi thought to himself darkly.

"This may sound kind of strange, but where is everybody?" Yoshi was hoping Helix would have some answer to this query.

"I don't know. None of this makes sense." Helix looked at a couple heavy iron doors that were closed and locked. No sounds came from them, nor did any sounds come the endless side passages that branched off throughout the massive tower. It may have seemed abandoned at the time, but shortly it would be quite the opposite. A floor above them, a door slammed shut and a harried Ein Virgil came striding out, accompanied by an aide. The commander of the tower was fuming.

"What does Kine think he's doing?" Virgil stopped and looked around, rubbing his eyes. Today had not treated him so well. "I want the barracks emptied and all soldiers prowling this tower. Find the Yoshi intruders and kill them quickly." He looked up and down the hallway, expecting to see the 'intruders' popping out of a door any second now. "First Order of Steel-Eaters my ass!" The Ein remembered the imposing form of Kine, a walking tribute to the wars that had been waged and won by the legion. Ein Virgil remembered that the scarlet robes and raven mask commanded more respect and attention than his simple armor and mask. Virgil's mask resembled a goat. A goat didn't demand people's respect as much as a raven. A raven was a symbol of morbid majesty. The goat was usually found in relation to farming and herding. Virgil had heard of an advanced civilization on a world that considered goats sacred, but Virgil had also heard that that planet had been destroyed by war thousands of years ago. Still, why a goat? He only grew angrier at Kine, the man who had stolen one of the greatest commanding positions in the legion from him. Now Kine was charged with the occupation of Yoshi Isle and he was an Ein stationed at a port nobody had heard of.

"Yes, Ein Virgil. Shall we put the dungeons into lockdown? Shall you like to meet with Lord Kine? What about…"

"Yes, yes and yes. Now hurry up and get going!" Virgil barked at the lowly aide. The aide was not fit to be a warrior. Thus he had no armor, simply a dirty old habit that he wore with whatever pride one got from being an aide. You were a commander, a soldier or an aide. The aide hurried away, eager to fulfill his duties to the Ein.

"Everything is going straight to hell or the equivalent thereof." Virgil shook his head and realized that those were the truest words he had spoken since they invaded this pathetic little isle.

Downstairs, Yoshi and Helix were wandering their way through the almost mazelike passages of the tower fortress. In the distance they heard the sound of heavy footsteps and clinking armor. It seemed their luck had run out. It was now or never.

"We have to go. NOW!" Helix grabbed Yoshi's arm and dragged him towards an open doorway. Inside was a circular staircase that must have gone up six or seven floors, with exits on each of the different levels. A doorway banged open and a dozen or so legionnaires, fully armored and with their weapons drawn, rushed out onto the stairway. They saw the two Yoshis and began descending the stairs. "This won't work. Don't you think?" Not waiting for a response, Helix dragged Yoshi out again.

"What now? These guys must of spotted us. Figures. Yeah, I'd say we're screwed." It seemed that some people couldn't work through this type of problem. Without a word, Helix and Yoshi made their way off once again, now and then spotting more legionnaires moving down adjacent corridors. What were they going to do? Head up a staircase, of course! That was Helix's thought. He saw an empty stairwell and took the chance to go up. "Wait? What now? Oh. _Stairs_. Isn't that just rich? STAIRS!" Ignoring Yoshi's whining, the dozens of legionnaires that crowded the bottom floor of the tower, and still trying to keep Ragnarok out of his head, Helix headed up the staircase. This one seemed shorter than the last staircase they had come across. The two Yoshis found their way, unhindered to the top of the staircase and took the exit there. They were now in an almost exact replica of the first floor. They didn't know where they were and they didn't know where Sasha and Galalc were. Nothing was going as planned. Not for them and not for Ein Virgil. This whole time the only person who knew what was going on was Kine, who sat patiently in the circular mosaic room. He was waiting for Ein Virgil to arrive and start begging for his thoughts on the situation. Kine knew the next person to walk through that door would be either a Yoshi insurgent or else a jealous and annoying Ein. He wasn't terribly happy with either choice. Several floors beneath him, Yoshi and Helix were stumbling their way through the tower. They didn't have an infinite amount of time before they were overwhelmed by legionnaires and all hope of rescuing Sasha and the scientist Galalc disappeared with them.

"Look, Yoshi. Wandering around here waiting to be caught by some soldiers and killed isn't going to get us anywhere. We need to figure out where Sasha and Galalc are and rescue them. Then we can get out of here, right?" Yoshi looked around uneasily before starting to talk.

"Yeah, but I never figured we'd get up to this point so I didn't really think about finding Sasha and Galalc. Did you?"

"Of course I did." Helix nodded and kept speaking, "Sasha and Galalc were, well, I mean. Let me start over. I never thought that we wouldn't get them back. If you know what I mean…it's nothing, really." He looked around, thinking. "I wonder if they might have a map here or something. Let's keep going." So Helix and Yoshi set off again, with their only current goal being to evade their pursuers long enough so that they could safely rescue Sasha and Galalc.

They were not aware how many floors up they were or how long it had been by the time the first thing went wrong. Yoshi and Helix were once again sneaking past and outrunning various groups of soldiers they encountered. Then they entered a small room. It was large and rectangular. There were many panes of glass, bigger than either of them, which were spaced throughout the room, creating a mazelike structure made out of glass. Several massive clay pots hung from the ceilings, suspended by chains. Various plants, both local and foreign, were in these plants. There were also pots on the floor, scattered throughout the maze. The room had no practical purpose, so what was it doing here? It was then that Helix and Yoshi discovered the purpose of the room the hard way. They entered and wandered down a wide glass hallway, confused at their surroundings. When Yoshi reminded Helix that they should be leaving, they turned around just to discover that the hallway behind them had been sealed off by glass. Helix struck it with his boot, attempting to shatter it but nothing happened. He tried again and the glass gave a low and weak thudding sound. Yoshi tried, now, but nothing happened. They were effectively trapped.

"One could guess that this room is used as a kind of punishment or torture room. Couldn't one?" Helix tried scaling the glass walls but slid back down after he was only a foot off the ground.

"One could also speculate that we are rats in a maze." Yoshi looked upwards, expecting a ladder to drop from the ceiling and give them a means of escape. He looked around, knowing they were helpless.

"Well we've got to keep trying to escape." Helix was about to say another thing, but then the second thing went wrong. The door to the room opened and five legionnaires came in. Following them was another legionnaire. This one wore a red cape with blue and yellow designs on it, like the armor of the other legionnaires. The caped legionnaire had a mask made in the likeness of a goat. When he saw Yoshi and Helix, he made a slight wave with his hand and the glass disappeared in an instance.

"It seems that we have…finally found you." The caped legionnaire strode forward. "I am Virgil, commander of The Legion troops staying here and in the vicinity of the Yoshi city of Bongo-Kongo. You are…?"

"Why should we tell you?" Helix eyed him. This legionnaire wanted more than to simply kill them. Whatever he wanted, Helix prayed to any listening god that he didn't have it.

"I suppose you make a point." The five legionnaires spread out, circling Yoshi and Helix. "If you wanted to be formal, you could call me Ein Virgil of the Fifth Order of the Plutonian Soldiers. The Plutonian Soldiers are an order of knights under the command of our holy and almighty leader. I could get into details, but I won't." He seemed to have manners, at least. "Sadly I must insist that you will have to be killed for tampering with the affairs of The Legion. The Legion is the official name of the holy military organization that I have pledged my life to. Now if you'll excuse me, it is time for you to be killed." The legionnaires drew their broadswords from their sheathes and Ein Virgil turned to leave. Luckily for Yoshi and Helix, another thing went wrong. Luckily it went wrong for both them and for Virgil.

Out of nowhere, an aide appeared in the doorway before Virgil could leave. "Ein Virgil, the dungeons have been opened and any prisoners down there have escaped! We're scouring for them but we cannot find ANY of the Yoshis that we captured. What shall we do, Ein Virgil?" The aide looked up at Virgil, afraid he was going to snap and kill him.

"Damnation!" Virgil turned to the soldiers around Yoshi and Helix. "We have to go. We must find those escapees. Come. We shall deal with the Yoshi insurgents later."  
As quickly as they had come in, they were gone.

"HELL YEAH!" Yoshi saw a faint glimmer of hope in this gloomy tower. "Dude, we might still be able to rescue Sasha and-" He was cut off as another event went off badly. Somewhere deep inside the tower, there was a hissing sound and then a boom. Smoke burst out into the corridors and waves of intense heat and flame started overtaking several unlucky legionnaires caught near the explosion. "No!" Yoshi looked around and groaned. "Who planted the bomb? WHO?" He looked around and made a growling noise that was one-third aggravation, one-third confusion, and one-third irritation. It seemed like everything involved bombs these days.

The tower swayed sickly; smoke driving the oxygen out of the hallways and flames incinerating legionnaires, rooms and hallways. Somewhere a stone in the base fell loose.

"We better get out of here. This thing might collapse…" Helix looked around nervously. What if it did? What if Sasha and Galalc were buried underneath tons of stone and armor? "It may sound bad leaving them here, but they could have been the ones who planted the bomb. They probably escaped their prison and got some stuff together and made a bomb. Galalc is probably some super-intelligent prodigy who can do anything." Yoshi didn't really care what they did; he had forgotten about Sasha, Ragnarok and Galalc. His survival instincts took over and told him that he should leave this tower.

"Right. Once we get outside we can see if they've found a boat or something." That sounded good. After all, who else would be here to plant a bomb? Galalc was the only person here who could make a bomb out of a vase, a couple loose stones and some loose cloth or something. However the last bad event that would befall them had to happen at that exact time.

There was a sound of crashing rocks, and Yoshi saw the outside hallway starting to collapse. They didn't have time for words; they rushed out of that room and down the hallway as fast as they could. The roof was collapsing all around them, sealing off rooms and other hallways.

_Crash! _The hallway in front of them disappeared in a tornado of dust and bits of rock. The wall of rubble had them trapped in this hallway.

"Great. These rocks are effectively blocking our way." Yoshi said, unaware of how strange he sounded right then.

"Great. Yoshi is pointing out the blindingly obvious." Helix grabbed Yoshi and forced him towards a door that wasn't blocked by rubble. "This is probably our only way out of here." Yoshi nodded.

"A conveniently located escape. Right." Helix shoved him towards the door, growling. They opened the door and found out that this was one of the many balconies dotting the outside of the large tower. Helix pushed Yoshi out onto it and stepped out after him. They looked down and saw that two floors below them was the ocean. Helix saw their boat and the legion's gunboat from here. On the deck of the gunboat was a figure…a Yoshi! Had Sasha and Galalc really found their way out?

"What the-" a voice yelled at them from the balcony's doorway. Standing behind them was the legionnaire who had called himself Virgil. He raised a broadsword and strode towards them.

"Come on, Yoshi!" Helix raised his sword and deflected a stab from Virgil. He started combating Virgil as Yoshi looked around and wondered what could they do to get out of this situation?

"Helix, we might have to…you know…jump!" Yoshi ducked and avoided a swing of Virgil's broadsword.

"Are you crazy?" Helix roared over the clash of blades. Virgil was quickly overpowering him.

"Yeah. I-" Yoshi watched in horror as Virgil hammered his fist into Helix's head, sending him stumbling back. Helix came to the edge of the balcony and swayed for a second before dropping off the balcony and two levels down into the cold sea. Yoshi turned to Virgil. Yoshi threw his sword at him and jumped down after Helix. The only way he got through that fall in one piece was the fact that Helix's sword, when it had fallen with Helix, had landed in the water and broken the surface tension.

With a splash, Yoshi landed below and immediately got pushed down several feet. Everything was dark and cold and salty around him. He heard water rushing around him and his entire body ached with the impact on the freezing water. He tried his best to struggle to the surface, his body desperately needing air.

"Eh!" He broke the surface and gasped. He heard voices and a clammy hand grasped his shoulder. His eyes stung from the salty water and he didn't know who was dragging him. Then, with a clunk, he was forced onto the deck of a boat.

"Come on, Yoshi. Open your eyes." Yoshi wiped the water off his face and opened up his eyes. Helix looked over his shoulder and saw the Yoshi that was on the deck of the ship. This Yoshi was a grayish color with streaks of white. He looked to be about a bit older than middle-aged. He was wearing a pair of small, circular glasses. Helix turned to him and looked him over, slowly. "Who are you?" The Yoshi grinned, revealing that his mouth was full of yellow and jagged teeth.

"My name is Galalc. I was employed as a scientist in His Majesty's military forces until about a year ago. Anything else you would like to know?" The man looked towards the entrance of the tower.

"What's going on?" Yoshi looked around. Shouldn't Sasha be with this guy? "Where's Sasha?" Galalc cocked his head to one side.

"You mean the lady I was with when we got captured?" Yoshi and Helix nodded. "I don't remember, really. One minute she was with me and the next minute…" Galalc looked around and pushed his glasses higher onto his face. "Oh I don't know!" This came as quite a hammering blow to Helix and Yoshi. Why didn't he know where Sasha was?

"Well, what about that bomb? Did you set that off?" This could get one question answered, hopefully.

"Well, yes I suppose I did set that off. I didn't make it, though. After our cells were opened, we wandered out into the tower and eventually we found the armory. That's where the bomb was. So I just set it off, figuring we could maybe cause a distraction or take down some legionnaires." Galalc pushed his glasses up, again. "Sorry but I still don't know where your friend is. I could have sworn she was right next to me…"

"Well, whatever." Helix turned to Yoshi, cursing under his breath. "Where is Sasha? I really wish I knew." Helix looked back towards the tower, expectantly. He groaned miserably and kept talking. "I hate to do this to Sasha but we have to leave right now." He pointed to three legion gunboats that were floating a short distance away from them. Then he pointed back to the tower where several legionnaires were piling out of the front entrance and running towards the boat. "Let's get to the cabin and start this thing, now!" The three Yoshis hurried inside to the boat's cabin.

The controls to the boat were pretty easy to figure out. They were much more basic than the usual controls on Yoshi motorboats. Yoshi motorboats were expensive, though, and as a result not many people owned them. Anyways, Helix grasped the control concept quickly and set the boat off into the bay, determined to escape the three gunboats that were chasing them.

Eventually they wound up having enough breathing room. The gunboats were only small dots in the distance and the tower was silent. They were quite safe at this distance.

"Well, now what?" Yoshi looked around the gunboat's cabin. What were they to do now? Sasha had vanished, Ragnarok had been killed for all they knew, but they had Galalc.

"I guess we go back to our base. See if Mr. Galalc here can enlighten us to the meaning of the transportation system underneath Barg." Helix looked in Galalc's direction but saw that he was paying them no attention. He was moving his mouth, but no words were coming out. Then Galalc began to talk, his voice quivering.

"I think someone else is on this boat with us." He looked at Helix. "I thought I heard something up on the deck."

"Don't worry; nobody's onboard this boat except for us. Listen, Yoshi go with him up to the deck and show him we're alone, okay?" Helix looked pleadingly at Yoshi.

"Fine. Let's go up on the deck and you'll see there are no legionnaires." Yoshi lead Galalc out of the cabin and down a hallway. At the end of the hallway there was a short metal ladder that they ascended to reach the deck of the gunboat. There was nobody, just as Yoshi had expected.

"Wait, can't you hear that?" Yoshi listened. He heard nothing but the sound of the waves crashing against the side of the boat. Then he heard it. A faint clunking noise was echoing from somewhere on the deck. Somebody was wandering around the deck, but who? Immediately Yoshi thought that a legionnaire had strayed onto the stolen gunboat before they set off. The problem was that he had no weapons with him. Helix had lost his sword when he fell into the water and Yoshi had distracted Virgil by throwing his sword at him. What would they do if there were a legionnaire on the ship with them? "I told you I heard something!" Galalc looked around, afraid of what might be on the deck with them. Then the unseen person on the deck came into view.

It could have been a legionnaire, but the garbs it wore were much different. It carried the traditional legionnaire sword but instead of the colorful and patterned armor the person wore a long, pitch-black cloak. A hood was pulled up over its head and the person's hands and feet weren't visible in the many folds of the cloak. Instead of a face staring at them from the folds of a cloak, a legion-esque mask resembling a locust did. The strange person did not speak; it simply started gliding towards Yoshi and Galalc.

"Oh. Damn." Yoshi didn't know if he should yell for Helix, run, or else jump overboard to get away from this attacker. Without paying Yoshi any attention, the attacker raised its curved broadsword. It turned to Galalc, its hidden gaze fixed upon him.

"May God have mercy on your soul…" Galalc stared up at the figure. He was paralyzed with fear and didn't move as the being came closer, the sword still raised above its head.

"Um…Galalc, what are you doing?" Yoshi was overtaken by fear. Galalc was sitting there, waiting to be killed by this new person. It was then that Yoshi took action. He opened up the hatch leading into the hallway by the ship's cabin and yelled in. "Helix…we've got a visitor!" He looked nervously back at the cloaked figure. "He's going to kill us, too…what should I do?" Yoshi didn't realize Helix couldn't hear him. "Come on-" Yoshi heard a sick slicing sound and then somebody fell to the ground. He turned around, knowing what he was going to see.

A couple feet in front of him, Galalc was lying spread-eagle on the deck of the gunboat a long, vertical gash disfigured his chest. Beneath him, a small pool of blood was forming. His eyes were glazed over in death and his mouth hung open, blood trickling from it. The figure that had killed him stood over his corpse, the bloody sword dangling by its side. It turned slowly and faced Yoshi.

"You are next." Then the figure disappeared, leaving Galalc's slashed up body on the deck. It was now that Yoshi screamed. Not a shout of surprise or a grunt of pain, but a scream. It was a long, blood-curdling howl that seemed to echo to the ends of the world. After this scream, all was silent. Then there was the sound of the hatch opening and Helix came flying out.

"What the hell, Yoshi?" He saw the body of Galalc and went quiet. "What happened?" Yoshi shook his head.

"I…I don't know. We were up here, and then this guy came out and he frickin' killed Galalc! Then he…he was gone." Yoshi closed his eyes and tried to vanquish the image of the black-cloaked killer from his mind.

"Galalc's dead. They must have wanted to kill him when he escaped so that we couldn't figure out…I don't get it." Helix shook his head. "Galalc is dead. Ragnarok is dead. Sasha is dead or gone. What do we do?"

Yoshi looked out over the bay waters, completely silent. There was only one option.

"We tell Thorn and the others. Then we figure out another plan." It was hard to say it, but that was the only thing they could do, for now at least.

"Well…I guess you're right." Helix almost laughed to himself. "Funny how things go completely wrong. I guess we should get back to the cabin and find somewhere to land…" He turned his back to Yoshi. This had been the worst mission yet.

Off in the distance, a solitary gunboat was hovering on the waters. On board Ein Virgil and a couple legionnaires were assembled on deck.

"It seems that they were unsuccessful in their attempts to rescue the prisoners. _He _made sure of that. Now we must simply wait." Virgil stopped addressing his troops for a second, and then he continued. "This war is not yet over. Not by a long shot. However, what they might consider a failure we must consider failure as well. Those transportation tunnels they have been mentioning are now lost to all parties in this war. We must now begin our crusade to conquer these rebels, and thus ease all of our operations. Whatever comes and whatever happens in these following dark days will surely dictate who comes out of this war winning. _He _is a factor as well as any other force that is yet unseen. For now, however, we continue our war." Virgil turned his back to the soldiers and addressed a Yoshi that was with them. The Yoshi was a yellow one that was bound and gagged. "Watch now and wait. You will see many more strange things to come." Virgil left the soldiers and the Yoshis and strolled to the deck of the ship. He thought to himself. _Somewhere out there. Somewhere out there, there is a force that will choose the victors. Today I have proved myself worthy and others have not. Kine is an example of such. He shall be berated for the fact that our new enemy killed one of the two prisoners. Our new enemy, huh. A new enemy for us means a new enemy for the Yoshi insurgency. However, for now we shall wait. We shall wait…and see._

To Be Continued In… 

**Yoshi Underground 2: Reloaded**


End file.
